Probituary: Betty Rikansrud Nelson

Originally published in the Spring 2015 issue of Inspire(d) Magazine • Betty passed away March 8, 2015. 

Interviewed by her granddaughter, Sarah Rattenborg, while at lunch. They got a few looks because of how much they were laughing. Betty’s ideal “balanced meal” was a piece of milk chocolate in one hand and dark chocolate in the other!

Pictured at right: Betty, her husband Dave, and Sarah during Nordic Fest 1991.

What’s the best advice anyone ever gave you?
A friend once told me to take an adult education class in weaving from Lila Nelson because she is such a great teacher. I “got hooked”!

What did you want to be when you grew up?
An airline stewardess, but I figured I was too tall.

What do/did you do?
I was an accountant at Hacker-Nelson and also taught accounting part time at Luther College. In my retirement, my favorite hobbies have been weaving, jigsaw puzzles*, and cuddling with my cat

*Interviewer note: At this point I would like to point out that Grandma Betty does jigsaw puzzles without looking at the picture on the box, and that is really cool.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you want with you?
1. Something to read
2. Something to do with my hands, like weaving or needle work
3. A great big Sudoku book

Try to describe yourself in one sentence.
I’m a know-it-all! I have an answer to everything! It might not be right, but I’ve got an answer.

If you could eat anything every day for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Chocolate!

Name one thing you could not live without.
My family. Friends can come and go when you or they get to different places in your lives, but family sticks with you.

Multiple choice: tell us about…Your favorite memory.
Tent camping with the family. There was one summer we finally got a couple of my kids and their families all together camping. There were some rough spots when people didn’t feel well or had different ideas of what to do, but it was nice having the families all together.*

*Interviewer note: It was awesome. It’s one of my favorite memories too.