Betty Lansverk
A native and life-long
resident of Minot with,
“no desire to live any-
where else,” Betty Jean
(nee Freeh) Lansverk,
completed her earthly
journey Monday, October
17th, 2016 in her home,
in her bed and in the arms
of her family, as was her
desire.
Affectionately known in
high school as “Twinkle
Toes” and “Betty Boop” in
recognition of her love of
dancing, Betty was born
on a typical winter day in
Minot where the high
temperature registered 13
degrees with visibility of
nine miles due to blowing
snow and that first night’s
low a rather wimpy 2 de-
grees below zero. It was
December 20, 1925, when
Lydia (Stock) Freeh gave
birth to Betty as her fa-
ther, Arthur Freeh, anxi-
ously paced the halls of
Trinity Hospital.
A native of Harvey, ND,
Arthur Freeh, having mar-
ried Lydia Stock, moved
to Minot in 1923-24 to be-
gin Arthur’s banking
career at the First Nation-
al Bank as Lydia settled in
as a new housewife in
“the big city,” to continue
her musical piano career.
Lydia was a student of
and an audacious player
of “ragtime” piano that
evidently inspired Betty,
as she too loved tickling
the ivory keys of the pi-
ano and organ.
Betty attended Minot
Public Schools beginning
with Roosevelt Elementa-
ry through Minot High,
graduating in 1943. After
high school, Betty worked
for AT&T as a telephone
operator. She enjoyed her
work but with World War
II raging she felt she
“should be doing more to
help the war effort” in
some other manner. That
desire motivated her to
move to Seattle to work
for the United States Navy
in a civilian capacity in a
“rather busy office typing,
processing, and filing
stuff.” No mention as to
whether or not the work
was of a secret nature,
however.
In addition to her love
of music, dancing, and a
wicked sense of humor,
Betty enjoyed playing
bridge at every opportuni-ty she could, and reading.
“My love of books is a
direct response to wit-
nessing the joy and pleas-
ure Mom received from
books,” said her son, Ron.
“For that I am ever grate-
ful, as are the proprietors
of book stores through the
Midwest,” Ron concluded.
On November 1, 1948,
Betty married Owen C.
Lansverk, a former neigh-
bor, high school class-
mate, and friend of her
younger sister, Donna. In
1950, Betty and Owen
bundled up their meager
possessions and their
year-old son, and moved
to Crosby in Divide Coun-
ty, ND. Crosby, eleven
miles south of the Interna-tional Boundary with Ca-
nada, and eleven miles
east of Montana, was
where Owen began is
42-year career with Farm-
ers Union Insurances and
Betty picked up her taste
for “couples-golf,” on the
then-sand greens of the
Crosby Golf Club. It is ru-
mored that Betty took a
whack at curling while
living in Crosby, but no
photos exist to prove that.
While living in Crosby,
both Betty and Owen
were active in various
community activities and
organizations. The com-
munity theater utilized
their musical talents and
undiscovered acting abili-
ties. Both were active in
Concordia Lutheran
Church in Crosby and
sang with the church
choir.
About 1958 Owen had
the opportunity of return-ing to Minot to join his
father’s Farmers Union In-
surance Agency. Betty
discovered that she had
grown fond of Crosby and
small town living and was
not sure she wanted to go
back home. However,
renewing long-lived
friendships quickly con-
vinced Betty they had
made the correct move.
Once home, Betty con-
tinued her bridge club ac-
tivities, was involved in
her children’s PTA organi-zations and learned to
drive, thus allowing her
the privilege of chauffeur-ing her children to their
various activities. In addi-
tion to bridge, golf and be-
ing a full-time mother,
housewife, and spouse,
she loved gardening,
walking and most outside
activities that offered her
an opportunity to enjoy
the sun and sun tea.
Any recap of Betty’s life
would be incomplete if it
did not make mention of
her love of and talent for
knitting. The exact point
when she discovered this
artistic outlet is unknown,
but daughter Amy be-
lieves it may have begun
during Amy’s formative
years. When Betty began
is not as important as the
amazing quality and
quantity she produced
over the years while she
still could see the fruits of
her efforts. From shawls,
sweaters, baby beanies,
and blankets she was
amazingly proficient, as
Amy will attest, “Look at
this, and this and these!
Can you believe how
talented she is?” And she
was.
Betty experienced some
of her greatest joys during
the years she proudly
served as a volunteer for
Trinity Hospital. Serving
and helping others helped
her meet her dream of
becoming a nurse.
Betty is survived by her
spouse of 68 years, Owen
(91) of Minot along with
three of her four children;
Ron (Dana K. Smith)
Lansverk, White Bear
Lake, MN; Amy (Brandt)
Lansverk, Minot, and Peg-
gy (Russ) Stai of San
Diego, CA. Her eight
grandchildren will miss
her baking, knitted gifts
and giggling: Joe (Kim)
Schmalz, Minot; Casey
(Wendy) Graves, Minot;
Jameson and Justin
Brandt, Minot; Eryn
Lansverk, White Bear
Lake, MN; Melissa (Matt)
Weiss, Baltimore, MD;
Brian Stai, San Diego, CA,
Chris Stai, Laguna Beach,
CA, and five great
grandchildren, Jillian and
Madeline Schmalz, and
Bowen, Zuzana, and Noe-
ma Weiss.
Betty was preceded in
death by her parents,
Arthur and Lydia (Stock)
Freeh, her daughter, De-
bra Kay Schmalz Graves
Lansverk, her sister, Don-
na (Freeh) Esterby, two
brothers-in-law, Owen
Arthur Esterby and Nor-
man Lansverk, and spe-
cial cousin, Vern Freeh.
The funeral will take
place at 10:00 a.m. Mon-
day, October 24 at First
Lutheran Church 101 3rd
Street SE, Minot, with a
reception to follow at the
church Parish Center. Pas-
tor Ken Nelson will offici-ate the ceremony. All are
welcome to attend and
celebrate Betty’s life.
Interment will take
place in Rosehill Memori-al Park, Minot. There will
be a time to visit with the
family Sunday at the Tho-
mas Family Funeral Home
on Main Street, Minot,
from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00
p.m.
Betty understands the
Vikings are playing but is
confident her friends can
accomplish both events
Sunday. In lieu of flowers,
memorials in Betty’s name
are preferred to the
Meniere Disease Founda-
tion, Alzheimer’s Disease
Foundation, First Luth-
eran Church (Minot, ND),
or a charity of your
choice.
“Death ends a life – not
a love. You will always be
with me grandma.”
-Eryn Lansverk, October
17, 2016.
Those wishing to sign
the online memorial regis-
ter or share memories are
invited to use the expres-
sions of sympathy section