Betty Ann Nelson Diehl, 85
Betty Ann Nelson Diehl, 85, passed away on Monday, Aug. 16, 2010, in Sandpoint, Idaho.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2010, at the First Lutheran Church in Sandpoint with Pastor Dave Olson officiating. Burial will follow at Pinecrest Cemetery. Viewing hours will be Friday from 2-7 p.m. at the Lakeview Funeral Home, and Saturday from 9-11 a.m. at the First Lutheran Church.
Betty Ann was born on June 23, 1925, in Sandpoint, Idaho, to Peter August (Gus) and Anna Nelson. She grew up and attended schools in Sandpoint, graduating high school in 1943. She attended the University of Idaho pursuing studies in home economics.
On Nov. 29, 1947, she married Stanton Diehl in Sandpoint. They moved to the Camas Prairie and then to Plains, Mont., where Stan and his family ran the Diehl Lumber Company. In 1972, they returned to Sandpoint.
Betty Ann was very active in her community as a member of the First Lutheran Church, a 37-year member of the Bonner General Hospital Auxiliary, Community Assistance League, and Sandpoint Festival board. Her commitment and dedication to her family, her friends, and her community was acknowledged in June 2004 when she was honored as a Woman of Wisdom.
Those who knew Betty Ann well knew that she was a woman of strength, class, and beauty who was equally at home on horseback on Camas Prairie, hunting and skinning grouse and antelope, floating a river with her family in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, going on safari in Kenya, dining and dancing in Paris, or graciously feeding the crowds at Flathead Lake who “just happened” to show up at dinnertime. She survived the loss of her son and her husband with grace and dignity and never gave up living. She loved her family and has left a great legacy of love, adventure, perseverance, and faith.
She is survived by her three daughters, Karen (Jack) King of Boise, Idaho, Diane Diehl of Bend, Ore., and Lisa (Willie) Rajala of Ventura, Calif.; a son, Ted (Darcy) Diehl of Sandpoint; 12 grandchildren, Andre Alfonso, Kyrsten Henrichs, Gabriell, Amber, Seth, and Selina Gitnes, Jamie, Jess, and Erik Diehl, Anders, Anna and Ella Rajala; she is also survived by four great-granddaughters.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Stan; son and daughter-in-law, Steve and Jonie Diehl, her sister and brother-in-law, Mary Ellen and Bill Holland of Plains, Mont.
Memorial donations may be made to CAL, PO Box 1361, Sandpoint, ID 83864; or BGH Auxiliary, PO Box 1448, Sandpoint, ID 83864.
Lakeview Funeral Home in Sandpoint is handling the arrangements. Please visit Betty Ann’s online memorial at www.lakeviewfuneral.com and sign her guest book.