Betty Lou Hovde, 89, most recently of Walworth, passed away peacefully on July 21 2018, after a brief illness.
A celebration of Betty’s life will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Toynton Funeral Home, 328 Kenosha St., in Walworth, with the Rev. Roger Harris officiating. Visitation will be from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Toynton Funeral Home, and again from 10 a.m. until the start of the service Monday.
Betty Lou was born to Lucille and Glenn Dunn on June 21, 1929, in Madison. She graduated from Madison West High School and went on to attend the University of Wisconsin.
Betty married Russell J. Hovde on Feb. 24, 1951. Betty and Russ were happily and lovingly married for more than 64 years, during which time they lived in Madison, Chicago and Park Ridge, Ill., and Williams Bay, Fontana and Walworth. Together, they enjoyed traveling widely, developing several beautiful residential neighborhoods along with a number of lovely homes very near their lakefront home in Fontana, and spending time with their children and their spouses, grandchildren and great-granddaughters.
After Betty and Russ got their two children safely off to college, Betty started her “second career” as the executive secretary for John Struggles, one of the founding partners of Heidrick & Struggles, an international executive search firm, at the firm’s office in the Chicago Loop. It was there that Betty developed and then really honed her computer skills, among others. Of course, she’d always been a blazingly fast typist ever since it involved an actual typewriter.
Around this same time, Betty and Russ decided that they didn’t always relish the daily commute from Fontana to Chicago, so they found a lovely loft apartment in the city’s newly developed Printer’s Row area. This allowed them to work downtown, really enjoy all that Chicago had to offer during much of the week, and then escape to Fontana and Geneva Lake the rest of the time.
Somehow, Betty also found the time and energy to be very actively involved in P.E.O., Lake Geneva Garden Club, Geneva Lake Association, Pilgrim Church, and the Black Point Estate & Gardens. Over the years, Betty engaged many other passions too, including sewing, baking, cooking not so much, reading – often more than one book at a time – and The New York Times every day, music and sculpting. Yes, sculpting. Who knew? Of course, she and Russ had the good fortune to share a number of common interests and to enjoy pursuing many of them together. They were truly life partners.
There are several other important things to know about Betty. Betty was a thoughtful, kind, compassionate and loving wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother and great-grandmother. She was always her children’s biggest cheerleader. She was also a very supportive, encouraging, dedicated and loyal friend. Although she seemed to age like the rest of us, Betty insisted that she was “philosophically 56” since June 22, 1984. She had a quick wit and an excellent sense of humor, often of the self-deprecating variety. Betty liked to drive fast, but she didn’t enjoy it when others did. Betty regularly whipped up delicious chocolate cakes, one of which could always be found in her freezer waiting to be devoured by guests. Also, once the first piece of cake was cut, it was Betty’s solemn duty to make sure that all subsequent cut lines were straight – even if that meant she had to trim and eat a little cake here and there to make it happen. Invasive honeysuckle was her sworn enemy. Betty was a closet feminist and progressive. For years, she served as a clipping service for her children and their spouses, as well as for many others, regularly sending them news items from The New York Times and other papers.
Betty had a deep and abiding faith, and she wasn’t reluctant to share it. One of the Bible verses that she carried in her purse was II Timothy 1:7-9; “For the Holy Spirit, God’s gift, does not want you to be afraid of people, but to be wise and strong, and to love them and enjoy being with them. If you will stir up this inner power, you will never be afraid to tell others about the Lord.” Both Betty’s faith and her nature led her to care deeply and sincerely about others.
Betty is survived by her grateful and loving children Martha (Craig) Halma and David (Betsy) Hovde; her grandchildren, Alex, Kirsten, and Elisa Halma, Lauren, Grace and Michael (Aprille) Hovde; and her great-granddaughters, Olivia and Presley Hovde. She is further survived by her cousin, Paula (Michael) Bunch; sisters-in-law Jean Owen and Joanne (Don) Piepenburg; brother-in-law Glenn (Miriam) Hovde; numerous nieces and nephews, and other extended family members.
Betty was preceded in death by her parents; her loving and devoted husband, Russ; her aunt, Carol (Bill) Barnes; her uncle, Cy (Edna) Peterman; and her in-laws, Joseffa and Ingvald Hovde.
In lieu of flowers or other expressions of sympathy, Betty’s family encourages donations in her honor to the Alzheimer’s Association, United Methodist Committee on Relief, Lake Geneva Garden Club or the Wisconsin Historical Society (Black Point Estate).
The family of Betty Lou Hovde offers its deepest appreciation to the staff of the Golden Years of Walworth and St. Croix Hospice for their tender, devoted and loving care of Betty.
