Betty Jean Lampe

Betty Lampe, age 93, of Wheaton, Minnesota passed away Sunday, November 26, 2023 at Countryside Inn in Rosholt, South Dakota.

Funeral Services will be held Friday, December 1, 2023 at 10:30 a.m. at St. John Lutheran Church in Wheaton, Minnesota with Rev. Dan Gifford officiating.

Visitation will be held Thursday, November 30th from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. with a 6:30 p.m. Prayer Service at the Bainbridge Funeral Home in Wheaton. Visitation will continue Friday morning one hour prior to service time at the church.

Interment will be in St. John Lutheran Cemetery, rural Wheaton. Pallbearers will be Mason Lampe, Brayden Lampe, Skyler Smith, Blake Smith, Jim Bendickson and Todd Ertsgaard.

Betty was born on July 31, 1930 to parents John and Ella (Larson) Ertsgaard of rural Wheaton. She was one of five children: Arling, Darlene (Sellden), Ella Mae (Bendickson) and twin brother Bob.

Betty and her siblings enjoyed playing yard games plus year-round river activities.  She attended country school before graduating WHS in 1948 leading to a job with the USDA.  

Betty’s pastimes included traveling to friends/relatives and attending area dances; and dancing is how she met her future husband, Virgil Lampe.  Soon after their meeting he was drafted into the Army and served in the Korean War.  A recently discovered wartime letter from Virgil to Betty made her smile bashfully in that he still fancied her.  After Virgil's return they reconnected and married June 7, 1958 in a unique double wedding ceremony with her twin brother.  Humorously the couples left the wedding in grand style sitting in a brand new manure spreader pulled by a tractor!

Betty and Virgil relocated to Moorhead, MN, where Virgil pursued an auto body repair career.  After a few years they returned to Wheaton to farm and raise sheep.  They started a family adopting Dean in 1967 and Mary in 1970.

Betty was a farmer/housewife and constantly busy gardening, canning, cooking/baking, managing household finances “to-the-penny” and bringing meals to Virgil in the field.  Between all the responsibilities she enjoyed daily journaling and was even an occasional prankster.  She was an excellent nurse when anyone fell ill.  As Dean and Mary became able to manage chores, Betty earned her CNA and worked part-time at the Traverse County Nursing Home.

Betty & Virgil tirelessly sacrificed for their children and grandchildren.  They modeled strong work ethics, Christian values and volunteerism.  The couple rarely missed the kids' extra-curricular activities, whether from the bleachers, in the car or Virgil’s driving the school bus while Betty rode along in the front seat for basketball games.  

Once the kids were launched, Betty & Virgil retired, sold the farmstead and moved into Wheaton.  They enjoyed time with friends, volunteering and visiting their children and grandchildren in Wheaton, and the Twin Cities, as well as a bit of travel as a couple.

After Virgil's sudden passing in 2013 Betty eventually moved to Prairieview Place in Wheaton.  Long visits continued with Mary and her children each year in Wheaton. and the Twin Cities, as well as Dean's family locally.  It was amazing to watch Betty regain her childhood sense of adventure vacationing on a Caribbean cruise with Mary, Skyler and Blake; ziplining in Jamaica at eighty-five years of age; and at eighty-six years old, parasailing in Mexico with Dean, Sunnee and Brayden!

In 2023 Betty moved to Countryside Assisted Living in Rosholt, South Dakota.  She is survived by her children Dean (Sunnee) and Mary; grandchildren: Mason (Mikaela), Brayden Lampe; Skyler and Blake Smith; and great-grandchild Beckett Lampe. 

Betty was preceded in death by her husband, parents and siblings.

Betty’s honesty, faith and the memories created will live on in those she touched. We love you!