West Bend, WI – Elizabeth “Betty” Nelson passed away in West Bend on Tuesday, March 12, at the Cottages at Cedar Community, at the age of 100 years.
She was born on July 11, 1923, in Albion, New York, the daughter of Morgan Beebe McCargo and Bessie (Bishop) McCargo. She spent her early years in Brockport, New York, until 1927 when the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company transferred her father to West Bend to manage A&P’s White House Milk Company.
Betty graduated from West Bend High School in 1941, and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from UW-Madison in 1945. She taught junior high biology in Columbus and Horicon for a few years before meeting her husband, Clifford, on a blind date arranged by mutual friends. Cliff and Betty were married in 1949, and for 52 years of marriage, they exemplified to family and friends what a loving, mutually respectful marriage could be.
Betty was preceded in death by her husband, Cliff; her younger sister and best pal, Margaret Hoffmann; and her daughter-in-law, Karen Johnson Nelson. She is survived by her children, Paul (Jane Lewis), David, Jim (Diane Foust), Janet (Rusty Long), and Bob (Oreet Ranon). She is further survived by grandchildren, Sarah Nelson (Christopher Wilson), Peter Nelson, Matthew Nelson (Cassidy Heller), and Jimmy Nelson, several nieces and a nephew.
Visitation will be held on Monday, March 18, from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at the Fifth Avenue United Methodist Church in West Bend.
Funeral services will be held at the church on Tuesday, March 19, at 11 a.m., with visitation starting at 10 a.m. until the time of the service. A lunch at the church will be served following the service. Private family interment will take place in Washington County Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials in Betty’s name be made to the Fifth Avenue United Methodist Church, United Way of Washington County, or a favorite charity.
The Schmidt Funeral Home in West Bend is serving the family. If you would like to leave a message of comfort and condolence, please visit www.schmidtfuneralhome.com
