Betty M Schulz

Betty M. Schulz, 90, went to her heavenly home on November 6, 2021 from her home in Post Falls, Idaho. A private interment will be on November 22 at Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery in Seattle at 10:00 am. A memorial service will follow beginning at noon at Epiphany Lutheran Church in Kenmore, Washington. Memorial gifts may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association and the American Diabetes Association. Betty was born in Appleton, Minnesota on May 18, 1931 to William H. and Lillie (Hoffman) Jagow. She grew up on the family farm near Holloway, the second of 6 children. She was baptized and confirmed at Fairfield Lutheran Church. Her elementary education was at the country school near her home north of Holloway. Throughout her life she loved to reminisce about life on the farm, the hard work as well as fun times. At the age of ten she began baking the family bread, six loaves at a time twice a week. She loved baking bread for the rest of her life. Betty graduated from Appleton High School in 1949. During highschool, she lived with her Grandma Thielke so that she could be closer to the larger school. During all four years she worked at Reno’s Theater and was known by all as the popcorn girl. Eventually she held down two more jobs, one at the Appleton Bakery and the other as legal stenographer for attorney Frank Wright. Betty met her husband Merlin while skating at the local roller rink in January of 1951. The couple married August 9, 1952 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Holloway while Merlin was home on leave from the Airforce. The newlyweds moved to Charleston, West Virginia where Merlin was stationed. Their first daughter, Robin, was born in July of 1953. They lived in Charleston until October of 1953 when Merlin received orders to go to Okinawa. At that time, Betty came back to Holloway with Robin to live with her parents After 21 months in Okinawa, Merlin was stationed at Geiger Field in Spokane, Washington and the family was reunited in June of 1955. After being discharged, they moved to Bremerton, Washington. While Merlin was attending college on the GI Bill, Betty worked for the Navy as an administrative assistant. In June of 1957 they moved to north Seattle. There Merlin studied engineering at the University of Washington and Betty worked as an administrative assistant at Sandpoint Naval Air Base. She worked there until February of 1960, a few months before their second daughter, Vickie, was born in May. In March of 1961 they bought their first and only house in the Lake City neighborhood of Seattle where they lived for 49 years. Betty enjoyed her roles as a wife, mother and homemaker. She was an expert seamstress and baker, known particularly for her breads, caramel rolls and sugar cookies which she loved to give away to family and friends. Betty was active at Our Savior Lutheran church and in her neighborhood. She participated in the neighborhood sewing club and also bowled in a league for many years. After Vickie graduated from high school, Betty decided to go back to work. She worked at the Office of Personnel Management for the federal government in Seattle from about 1979 until she retired in 1994. After cutting down to part-time work, Betty enjoyed volunteering as a reader for the radio station for the blind. In retirement, Betty volunteered at Seattle Children’s Hospital holding sick babies whose parents needed respite. This position truly captured her heart. She also participated in Bible Study Fellowship and had her last volunteer position reading to the residents at Faas Nursing Home. Betty was devoted to her family, and found great joy in being a grandmother. She babysat whenever she had a chance, and was always present for the important moments and events. She participated in their lives in so many ways - bicycling, playing baseball at Bible camp, baking treats, taking them on outings and reading to them. When they were grown she would buy tickets for special Christmas concerts that all the family could attend. Along with Merlin she loved to host the family at their home for all the holidays, birthdays and family milestones. Betty loved to travel and was proud of the fact that she and Merlin had visited all fifty states, the last being a cruise to Alaska in 2016 with their daughter Vickie and son-in-law Dale. They travelled around the country to see family and friends and see new sights. They also took two trips out of the country to Sweden and Norway to visit Merlin’s relatives and to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. But the most frequent destination was Minnesota. Even though Betty lived in Washington for 66 years, whenever she met someone or heard of someone from Minnesota, her ears would perk up. She enjoyed seeing family and still considered Minnesota to be her home. At Betty’s urging, she and Merlin bought a condo at the end of 2009 and sold the family home in 2010 because she didn’t want Merlin working so hard in the yard and didn’t want Vickie to have to be responsible if health challenges came. Betty was always thinking about the needs of others. This was a providential move for them, because at about that time, she began exhibiting early signs of dementia. She managed the move and even hosted many family gatherings for the first couple of years in their new home. In December 2019, Betty suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. After about 6 weeks of recovery she was able to return to her home with Merlin. In July of 2020, Betty and Merlin moved to The Chateaux Assisted Living in Bothell. They made their final move to Post Falls, Idaho in April 2021, buying a house with daughter Vickie and son-in-law Dale. Here they were able to spend her last six months together before she went to her final home. Betty died at home on November 6, 2021. She is survived by her husband Merlin, daughter Vickie (Dale), grandchildren Marissa (Karel), Betsy, Ian, Megan and David, and by many nieces and nephews and their families. She was preceded in death by her daughter Robin, her five siblings Willard, Jerry, Wally, Ruby and Bill, and by her parents.