Date of Birth:
Wednesday, August 1, 1923
Date of Death:
Thursday, November 25, 2021
Age:
98 years old

Elizabeth “Betty” Ahle

Elizabeth (Betty) Anne Ahle passed away peacefully on November 25, 2021, surrounded by family, at Rochester Rehab & Living Center.

Betty was born in Rochester in 1923, the second of four kids. She graduated high school from St. John’s (now Rochester Lourdes) and studied nursing at St. Mary’s School of Nursing. Betty then trained to be a Red Cross Cadet Nurse in Tacoma, Washington, where she met her husband, Donald (Don) Ahle, an Air Force pilot. Betty and Don married on July 14, 1945. She was a mother to eight children while traveling the world as a military wife, and she was active in military life wherever stationed. The family ultimately settled back in Rochester in 1962, and Betty worked in private duty nursing while raising her family. Betty eventually retired in 1989, after working as a floor nurse on 2nd Francis of St. Mary’s Hospital, always proudly wearing her white uniform and cap.

Betty had sparkling blue eyes, an adventurous spirit, an unforgettable laugh, and a great wit that she deftly deployed until the end. She was a talented seamstress, and even more gifted cook. For many years, every family celebration featured a pie or cake that she creatively decorated and her homemade fudge sauce, and every holiday brought personalized cookies for each local family member. She came to love hockey later in life and was an avid Wild fan. She was a “hockey mom” to the Rochester Mustangs players that she housed, who also knew her as “Apple Betty” or “Betty Crocker” and who continued to include her in their life events for many years after leaving the Mustangs or going professional. Betty enjoyed water aerobics, Red Hat Society events, cruises with her friends during her retirement, watching her grandchildren’s sporting events, and, in recent years, visits with her many great grandchildren.

Betty is preceded in death by her mother and father, Joseph and Jennie Wegman; brothers, Joey and Tom (Elaine) Wegman; sister, Mary Lou Greene (Bob); husband, Donald Ahle; daughters, Mary Elizabeth (Betsy) Ahle and Donna Ahle. She is survived by her daughters, Jennie Cropp (Ron) and Joan Blom (Gary); sons, Michael Ahle (Patti), Tom Ahle, John Ahle (Cherrie), and Mark Ahle (Kris Stadheim); many nieces and nephews; and twenty- eight grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, December 3, 2021, at St. Pius X Catholic Church with Rev. Russell Scepaniak officiating. Visitation will be held one and a half hour prior to the Mass beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the church. Burial will be in Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN.

As Betty was a long-time parishioner and volunteer at St. Pius X Catholic Church, the family would prefer that any memorials be directed to St. Pius X Catholic Church.

A special thank you to the Mayo Hospice nurses and the staff at Rochester Rehab and Living.

The Funeral Mass will be live streamed by St. Pius X. Click here to view the live stream.