Elizabeth L. “Betty” Stastny, 86, of rural Fennimore, passed away on Friday August 19, 2016 at the Onalaska Care Center in Onalaska, Wisconsin.
Betty was born on October 22, 1929 at the home of her parents, George and Emma (Schwab) Martin in Marion Township, rural Woodman, WI. She attended country school through the 8th grade. At that time there was no school bus service in rural areas, so she was unable to attend high school. She helped out on the family farm until the fall of 1945 when Vilas Bohlman sent a letter to her parents stating that he’d heard she was a good worker and wondered if she would be interested in a job at the Bohlman Drugstore in Boscobel. Once she met with Vilas and his wife Florence and was offered the job, she moved into the house on Adams St. where her Grandma and Grandpa Martin and her Aunt Ann and Uncle Fred Ricks all lived. She started working just after her 16th birthday. She mainly worked at the soda fountain, but occasionally helped out in the jewelry department when Florence was away. She worked there until December of 1948.
While working at the drugstore, Betty had the occasion to meet a young man from Hickory Grove township. His name was John Stastny. On February 23, 1949 she and John were married at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. She then moved to the farm John’s family had lived on since 1910. They lived and worked there together for 53 years until his death on March 29, 2002. She continued to live on the farm until May 21, 2016 when illness required hospitalization and then rehabilitation at a nursing home. The logical choice was the care center where her oldest grand-daughter is the administrator. “Gram” was well cared for and was able to be visited by family daily.
In 2001 she was diagnosed with Macular Degeneration. Thus began a long struggle with the body that began to betray her. She had colon cancer in 2012, and thyroid cancer in 2015. And yet she continued to live on the farm, adapting herself to her diminished abilities. At Christmas 2015, barely able to lift her right arm following her cancer surgery, she still figured out a way to frost her Christmas cookies by putting the frosting bowl on a chair beside her. Even the day before she died, she was starting to make strides and was still planning on being home sometime in the fall. But she had been battling a blood infection since mid July and finally passed away peacefully in her sleep. She is now in heaven, where she is able to see again and no longer hurts, and has been reunited with her beloved John.
She was an incredibly hard worker who never gave up, and she lived her life to the fullest of her abilities. She was an excellent cook and baker, and continued to be so up until the time she no longer lived on the farm. She was the kind of Mom and Grandma who didn’t play favorites, and surrounded her family with love. She will be missed.
Betty is survived by her children John M. Stastny of Fennimore, James M. Stastny of rural Fennimore, Diane (Mark) Neas of Lacrosse, and Lisa (Pete) Esser of Boscobel. Two granddaughters Marissa (Kyle) Janke of Galesville Wisconsin and Amelia Neas of Eau Claire Wisconsin, several cousins, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, a brother Howard Martin, and a sister Melba McDaniel.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Thursday August 25, 2016 at 11:00 A.M. at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Boscobel with Father Jim Murphy officiating. Burial will be in the Boscobel Cemetery. Friends may call on Wednesday August 24, 2016 from 5:00-8:00 P.M. at the Kendall Funeral Home in Boscobel, with a rosary service at 8:00 P.M. Friends may also call on Thursday from 10:00 A.M. until the time of departure to the church from the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the family, who will make donations in her name to the Apostolate to the Handicapped, which provided her with so much pleasure over the years, to the Wisconsin Council of the Blind, which had provided her with books on tape for the last year, and to the Boscobel and Fennimore Rescue Squads.
The family wishes to thank the staff at the Onalaska Care Center for the wonderful care Betty received for the past 3 months, and the Doctors at Gundersen Health System, both in LaCrosse and Boscobel for their unfailing attempts to improve her health.
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