945 Palm Boulevard
Brownsville, TX  78520
Phone: 956-546-7111
Fax: 956-542-7242
E-Mail Us
MAP & DIRECTIONS
OBITUARIES

Betty Marie Van Liere
January 5, 1927 - March 6, 2010

Betty Van Liere

Born Betty Marie Molzahn, January 5, 1927, daughter of Erwin and Agnes Molzahn in New England, N.D. She attended Dickinson, N.D. High School and the University of North Dakota where she received a degree in Business Management. After graduation, Betty was employed as a Personnel Director at J.C. Penny Company in Minneapolis. There she met her future husband, Wally, and they were married July 30, 1949. They honeymooned in Acapulco, Mexico and spent their first two winters in Brownsville, Texas and summers in Minneapolis, MN, as her husband was working as a chemical specialist in the Rio Grande Valley and the Red River Valley. In 1951, they settled in the Lake Minnetonka area of Minneapolis, built a home and her husband joined a private chemical company. Betty was active in the Excelsior Congregational Church where she taught Sunday school. In the early years of raising her children, Betty also was a Cub Scout Den Mother for many years. She was an avid golfer and was a member of Lafayette and Wayzata Country Clubs. In 1978, she and her husband purchased a home at Valley Inn and Country Club in Brownsville, which they used as a vacation home for many years until retirement, in 1986, they moved there full time. In Brownsville, Betty and Wally were members of Valley International and Rancho Viejo Country Clubs. She was active in golf and an ardent bridge player. She loved to read and was a volunteer at the Brownsville Public Library in their “Friends of the Library” program.

Betty went to her eternal reward on March 6, 2010. She was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her husband, Wally, daughter, Sandra (Steve) Elfstrom of Eden Prairie, MN., sons, Kent of Denver, Co., Keith (Cheryl) of Eden Prairie, MN., and Ross of Minnetonka, MN, a brother, James Molzahn of Rapid City, SD, five grandchildren and one great-grandson.

A “Celebration of Her Life” will be held on Thursday, March 11, 2010 in the Garden Room at Valley International Country Club from 4 to 6 p.m. All of Betty’s friends are invited to share in the celebration with her family.

A private memorial service will be held in Minneapolis, MN at a later date.

Memorial donations may be addressed to Ebony Lake Nursing Home, or The First Presbyterian Church both of Brownsville. TX.