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April 13, 1938-May 2, 2021
Betty Buseth, 83, long-
time Velva area resident
died peacefully on May 2,
2021 in a Bismarck hospi-
tal with family by her
side.
Betty Jane was born on
April 13, 1938 in Velva,
ND to Tony and Lois
(Nopp) Swedlund. She
was raised and educated
in Velva and graduated
from Velva High School
in 1956. As a young adult
she was employed at the
Super Value Grocery
Store and Velva Journal.
Betty married Orlan
Buseth on July 29, 1956 at
Oak Valley Lutheran
Church in Velva. They
made their home in Seat-
tle, WA while her hus-
band completed his mili-
tary service in the U.S
Navy. Following his
discharge, they returned
to Velva for several years.
Betty was an Avon Lady
in Velva for years, which
suited her well because
she loved to visit and
drink coffee and was a
successful saleswoman.
They moved to Howard,
SD where she worked as a
bookkeeper at the Farmers
Union Oil company and
Orlan was the manager.
They returned to Velva in
1970. Betty was employed
as a cook at the school
and enjoyed getting to
know all of the kids.
Volunteering in her
community was very im-
portant to Betty. She was
proud to be the first fe-
male City Commissioner
on the Velva City Council.
She started the Girl Scout
Program and was honored
with a 35-year service
award for her hard work.
Other volunteer jobs in-
cluded Velva Music Moth-
ers, Women's Club, Velva
Homemakers, Oak Valley
Lutheran Church Council,
American Legion Auxili-
ary, board member and
volunteer for the Com-
munity Concert Associa-
tion. For several years
Betty and her four sisters
attended the adult session
of the International Music
Camp at the Peace Gar-
dens. They were known
as the Sax Sisters and had
a lot of funny stories
about their adventures or
misadventures while at-
tending.
For years Betty decorat-ed cakes and most every-
one in the area had a
birthday cake or wedding
cake made by her. She
was the ultimate enter-
tainer and hosted
numerous family holidays
and events in her Victori-
an home in Velva. She
was very proud of the fact
that she entertained two
governors in her home.
She was also a great artist,
mastering rosemaling, oil
painting as well as water-
color. She mastered the
craft of hardanger as well.
After Orlan retired they
spent their winters in
Apache Junction, AZ. She
was involved with ceram-
ics as well as aqua aero-
bics in the pool every
morning. They spent their
summers at Strawberry
Lake, a place that was
beloved by both of them.
She felt blessed that she
could live such a great life
after retirement. She
made friends wherever
she went. Betty was al-
ways upbeat and had a
great sense of humor. She
loved telling stories about
growing up on a farm
with 7 other siblings.
Orlan passed away on
May 4, 2017. Betty then
moved to Valley View
Manor Assisted Living in
Velva. She felt at home
there and staff and other
residents treated her like
family. She was happiest
about not having to cook
anymore!
Betty's loving family in-
cludes: her daughter: Jane
(Al) Christianson,
Bismarck; grandchildren:
Molly (Bojan) Buzakovic
of Bismarck and Kendall
Christianson (Alexis
Kelsch) of Pasadena CA;
siblings: Mary (Jerry)
Johnson of Bismarck, Jean
(Bob) Miller of Anchorage
AK and John (DeDe)
Swedlund of Velva; sis-
ters- in-law: Ann
Swedlund and Iris
Swedlund. She has
numerous nieces and
nephews as well.
Betty was preceded in
death by: her husband Or-
lan, parents: Tony and
Lois Swedlund, siblings:
Paul Swedlund, Kay
Obert, Tony Swedlund
and Patricia Bendickson.
Celebration of the life
of Betty Buseth: Friday
May 7, 2021 at 11:00 am
in Oak Valley Lutheran
Church - Velva. To view
a livestream of the ser-
vice, please access her
obituary page at
www.thomasfamily
funeralhome.com.
Interment will be in the
Velva Community
Cemetery at a later date.
Visitation: Thursday
from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
in Thomas Family Funeral
Home - Minot
Memorials are preferred
to the Oak Valley Luth-
eran Church - Velva,
International Music
Camp, Girls Scouts or
Valley View Manor.
Memories and con-
dolences may be shared at
www.thomasfuneral
home.com.