Obituary Record

Elizabeth (Betsy) Anderson
Died on 11/1/2017
Buried in Blair Cemetery

#1-Published in the Pilot-Tribune November 7. 2017

Elizabeth "Betsy" Anderson passed away Nov. 1. Funeral services will be held Monday, Nov. 6 at 10 a.m. at First United Methodist Church in Blair. Graveside services will follow at the Blair Cemetery. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the church.

Betsy was born the daughter of Roy and Esther Anderson in Blair. She attended Blair High School where she excelled at sports, primarily softball. After her graduation, she accepted a scholarship to play for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln softball team. After graduating from UNL, she was accepted to physical therapy school and became a licensed physical therapist. She moved to Arizona and worked in Scottsdale as a physical therapist at a hospital. Three years ago, Betsy moved back to Nebraska to be closer to family.

Betsy is survived by her father Roy I. Anderson of Blair; brother, Charles Anderson of San Marcos, TX; niece Chelsea (Blake) Bowen of Carrollton, TX and Laurel Anderson; several cousins and many friends.

She was preceded in death by her mother Esther Anderson and brother, Frank Anderson.

#2-Elizabeth “Betsy” Anderson will be remembered as a friend, teammate and caregiver.

“She was just this person that just always was joyful, was always smiling, was always so much energy and so much spirit,” said Jackie Warrick, who was one of Anderson's lifelong friends. Anderson was killed in a single-vehicle rollover crash Wednesday in Burt County.

Deputies responded to the scene at approximately 5:47 p.m., four miles south of Decatur. According to Sheriff Robert Pickell, Anderson, 63, was southbound on U.S. Highway 75 when her vehicle went off the road and rolled twice in a corn field. Anderson, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Warrick and Anderson were teammates on the Fairway Propane & Fertilizer softball team, which played during the summer in Blair. “They didn't have softball when we were in high school,” Warrick said.

Anderson, Warrick said, was a “phenomenal” softball player.

“She would catch a fly ball and if you were trying to tag up, she would start running into the infield with that ball cocked in her arm ready to throw you out,” Warrick said. “She'd be running at top speed and if you took off, she'd whip that ball and you wouldn't make it very far.” Anderson turned her summer playing days into a college career at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she was a letter winner in 1976-77.

Though the seasons ended many years ago, the Fairway softball family still found time to get together as often as they could.

#3 Blair woman killed in crash

The "Fairway girls," including Betsy Anderson, front, second from right, pose for a photo last month in front of Fairway Oil Co. Anderson died Wednesday in a car accident in Burt County. Courtesy Jackie Warrick

“We would get together once a month and go out to eat,” Warrick said. “The Fairway girls, we'd call ourselves. We'd tell old stories. We'd tell new stories that happened during the week or month. We'd laugh so hard.”

Last month, the former players, including Anderson, met at the Blair Youth Sports Complex to dedicate two benches to another member of their team who died in November 2014.

The group also spent vacations together, traveling to Las Vegas, New Orleans and Alaska.

Anderson, who had been an Arizona Diamondbacks season ticket holder, had dreamt of another vacation.

“She always told me her dream was to rent an RV and travel around and go to every single baseball park,” Warrick said. “We all told her we'll take turns. We'll go to two or three with you and the next will go. We all wanted to join her on it.”

Anderson, who had lived in Scottsdale, Ariz., had served as a physical therapist at a hospital there. Warrick said her former coworkers described her as a “character.”

“They said when she walked down the hall in the hospital, she knew every housekeeper, custodial person, cook, nurse, doctor and she just always greeted them with a big hello, a smile and a wave,” Warrick said. “They said everybody just admired her for the joy and the smile and the sweetness she greeted everybody with.”

Anderson retired and returned to Blair three years ago to take care of her father, Roy.

“She was a faithful caregiver. She went up there every day,” Warrick said. “Every Sunday she would take her dad for a drive out in the country.”

At the time of her accident, Anderson was checking on land that her father owned in Burt County. She was going to give her father a report, Warrick said.

Anderson was so much more than a friend, Warrick said. She was a sister.

“She's one of those people that will never be replaced,” Warrick said through tears. “She was one-of-a-kind special, special person. All of our lives are better for knowing her.”

#4 Funeral Leaflet

In Loving Memory of Elizabeth “Betsy” Anderson

Born June 17, 1954 ~ Entered Into Rest November 1, 2017

Funeral Service 10:00 AM Monday, November 6, 2017 First United Methodist Church, Blair, Nebraska. Officiating: Pastor Gina Gile. Organist: Clare Cowing. Musical Selections” “What A Friend We Have In Jesus”, “Amazing Grace”, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”, “Come To Jesus”

Pallbearers: Baiba Cunard, Linda Dutton, Shelly Mintken, Janet Kuhl, Eloise Heimke, Vickie Brummer, Jackie Warrick

Campbell-Aman Funeral Home

~~~ Obituary and funeral leaflet courtesy of Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings and leaflets on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska~~~

FindaGrave #:184892830

Printed in the Washington County Pilot-Tribune on 11/7/2017


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