KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii - As comfortable on the back of a Harley Davidson as she was in the church she helped form, Betty Serry covered a lot of ground in her life.

A wife and mother, dedicated volunteer, enthusiastic traveler and Kona coffee and macadamia nut grower were some of the roles Serry filled before her death July 18 at the Hawaiian home she greatly loved. She was 81.

Serry and her husband, Earl, moved to the big island in 1985 after 28 years in Fallbrook, where they were one of three couples who founded the Community Baptist Church of Fallbrook. That was her proudest accomplishment outside of family life, according to their son, Alan.

"She was a woman of God. She was busy in the community, but saw a need for a place to worship and be instructed in things of the Lord," he said. "If you were to ask her the thing she felt best about, it would be being part of getting that house of worship to Fallbrook."

Serry got involved with more than the church during her time in Fallbrook. She was a Cub Scout den mother, president of both Junior and Senior Women's Clubs and an officer in the Christian Woman's Club. She also served as president of the Junior High Parent Teacher Association and a member of the Palomar College Parent Board.

Her schedule didn't get in the way of raising three children. Alan recalls his mom getting involved in everything he did, from hopping onto a coaster he built and riding it down the driveway to riding on the back of his motorcycle and driving his new sports car.

"As busy as she was, she always had time for us kids. … She would be really involved in whatever we were involved in," he said.

Riding with her son wasn't Serry's first motorcycle experience. Earl's Harley Davidson was often the couple's mode of transport after they started dating in 1941 at Canon City High School in Colorado.

Earl had spotted the 15-year-old new girl in town when she drove her father's 1941 Oldsmobile into the service station where he worked. First admiring the car, he then noticed the girl driving it and thought, "That's a good-looking babe."

They married Feb. 25, 1944. Earl became an Air Force crew chief and flight engineer for B-24s and B-17s, while Betty worked as a cashier at the post exchange. After the war, they spent time in Canon City, Pomona and Lancaster, before moving in 1957 to Fallbrook, where they owned a citrus and avocado grove.

A desire for a warmer climate took the couple to Hawaii, where they developed the 11-acre coffee and macadamia nut operation in which Earl remains involved.

They would visit the mainland every summer and travel by van or trailer across the United States and Canada. They visited all 50 states and most of the Canadian provinces.

"She made friends all over," said Alan. "She was one of those ladies who always had a smile on her face. When you were in her presence, you would always perk up and smile."