Elizabeth “Betty” Stroh, 95, formerly of Dickinson, died Thursday, March 2, 2017 at the St. Vincent’s Care Center, Bismarck, with her daughters at her side. Betty’s Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, March 7, 2017 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Dickinson with Fr. Keith Streifel as the celebrant. Interment will take place later this spring at St. Joseph’s Cemetery. Visitation will be on Monday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., with a rosary & vigil at 7 p.m., at Ladbury Funeral Service, Dickinson.
Elizabeth “Betty” Schmidt was born March 31, 1921 to Florian and Perpetua (Schmaltz) Schmidt. She attended Prospect School #1 where she was a champion speller. She helped her parents on the farm 8 miles west of Manning until she married Martin Stroh on October 17, 1939. She and Martin moved to different farms until they moved back to her family farm in 1954. There they worked together to successfully raise their six children.
Betty stayed very active at St. Edward’s Parish, where she created the altar arrangements, crocheted the altar cloth (which is displayed at the Dunn Center Museum). She and all her St. Edward’s Altar Society friends cleaned the church, polished the hard floors to a mirrored finish and did all the holiday decorating. After their move to Dickinson, Betty belonged to the St. Joseph’s Parish Altar Society.
In 1984 Martin and Betty moved to Dickinson, where Betty finally had the time to indulge in her own interests, gardening, growing beautiful flower beds and most notably sewing for herself and many others. One of her favorite things to make were remembrance Teddy Bears for people whose loved ones had passed. Since she didn’t have time for dolls as a young girl she began to collect dolls and made clothes and furniture to display them in her home. Her Brazilian Embroidery was a work of art and along with her daughter Hilda taught a class at the Adult Learning Center. Betty also enjoyed oil painting, quilting, bird house collecting and building and every other craft there was with the exception of knitting. Everyone looked forward to Betty’s annual hobby and craft sale where many people were able to purchase something Betty made. Betty was an artist, and saw the world with an artist’s eye. In a blue sky she would see purples, pinks, yellows and greens. We can only imagine how beautiful heaven looks to her.
Betty is survived by five of her six children, Carl Stroh, Dickinson, Hilda Roller Lamprecht, Dickinson, Bernadette” Bernie” Axtman, Bismarck, Annette Ellen (Ted) Giovannoni, Bismarck and Marvin (Joanie Palaniuk) Stroh, Washburn; 12 grandchildren; ten great-grandchildren; eight great-great-grandchildren; two sisters, Ann (Pete) Schultz, Eleanor “Ellie” Jones; brother Christ (Verena) Schmidt; and two sisters-in-law Cecelia Stroh and Eva Kilzer.
Betty was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Martin; son Kenneth “Ken”; and two sons-in-law Peter Roller and Frank Lamprecht. She also was preceded in death by her brothers Paul, Anton, Alfred, Leo, Frankie; sisters Beatrice, Magdaline and Genevieve “Gen”; and sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law Pauline Schmidt, Eleanor Schmidt, Betty Schmidt, Claudia Schmidt, Richard Diebel, and Bill Jones. Memorials may be given in Betty’s name to the St. Vincent’s Chapel, 1021 N 26th Street, Bismarck, ND 58501.
