Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Smith, 97, fromerly of Wabasha
Elizabeth “Betty” Smith, age 97, of Lake City, MN, died Monday, September 9, 2019, at St. Elizabeth Health Care Center, Wabasha, MN.
Elizabeth Dorothy Luhman was born June 28, 1922, in Crookston, MN, the daughter of Paul and Lorraine (Menge) Luhman. Her first two years of life were spent in Beltrami, MN, and then in 1924 the family moved to rural Mahnomen, MN. In 1935, they moved East of Mahnomen to Roy Lake. Betty graduated from Mahnomen High School with the class of 1940. On April 14, 1942, she was united in marriage to The Reverend George Smith in Cass Lake, MN. The young couple made their home in White Earth, MN, followed by a short stay at Ponsford, MN, Bena, MN, and then the Mission Camp on Cass Lake. IN 1950, George and Betty moved into Cass Lake and then to Bemidji, MN, in 1972. While living in Cass Lake, Betty worked as the Village Clerk from 1958 until 1967. She then worked for the Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service in Cass Lake until her retirement in 1987. After the death of her husband, George, in 2005, Betty moved to Wabasha, MN, part time starting in 2009, and in 2013 she moved to Lake City.
Over the years, Betty was an active member of the Mississippi Headwaters Audubon Society and the League of Women Voters of the Bemidji area. She enjoyed playing the organ in most of the Episcopal Churches within the Leech Lake, White Earth, Red Lake Reservations and she even played on a visit to Arctic Village, AK. Betty was also a long-time member of St. Bartholomew’s Church in Bemidji, then Trinity Episcopal Church in Park Rapids, MN, and most recently a member of Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church in Lake City.
Betty is survived by her children: Kent (Mary) of Little Falls, MN, Claricy of Minneapolis, MN, and Nancy (Craig) Falkum of Wabasha, MN; three grandchildren: Paul and Robert Smith and Alexis Cobe; eight great-grandchildren; and a sister, Carol Richards of North Field, MN.
She was preceded in death by her husband; parents; son, Gale; a grandson; brother, John Luhman; brother and sister-in-law, Francis (Jean) Luhman; sisters and brothers-in-law: Marjorie (Charles) Gill and Ruth (Charles) Lewis.
A Memorial Service was held at 12:00 pm on Friday, September 20, 2019, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Park Rapids, MN. A time of gathering took place one hour prior to the service at the church. Inurnment took place at St. Columba Episcopal Cemetery in White Earth, MN.
Memorial Services at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Lake City, MN, to be arranged later this fall.
Arrangements entrusted to Anderson Family Funeral Home in Mahnomen. Online website: www.andersonfamilyfh@arvig.net
