Elsie Reich

Elsie Reich, 101, Bismarck, died June 6, 2011, at Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center, Bismarck. Services will be held at 2:00 pm Friday, June 10, 2011, at Eastgate Funeral Service, Bismarck, with Rev. Willis Potratz officiating. Burial will be in Sunset Memorial Gardens, Bismarck. Visitation will be held from 4:00 pm until 6:00 pm Thursday, June 9, at Eastgate Funeral Service, Bismarck. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. Elsie was born November 28, 1909, on a homestead east of Beulah, ND, the daughter of David and Martha Karlin Betz. She attended country school. In 1932, she married Emil Reich in the Lutheran Church in Hannover, ND. In 1936, Elsie moved to Beulah where she worked in various restaurants and managed the Greystone Café. She also managed the Stanton Café during the years of 1946-1948, when the Garrison Dam was built. In 1962, Elsie moved to Huntington Park, CA, and worked there until 1976. At that time she returned to Bismarck and worked at the Greyhound Bus Depot until her retirement in 1980. She then moved to the Crescent Manor until 2009, when she moved to Missouri Slope Lutheran Care Center. After retirement, Elsie volunteered with the Retired Senior Volunteer Program for seven years, and received their Volunteer of the Week Award. Elsie enjoyed embroidering, crocheting, and hand quilting. She spent many hours planning each quilt and took special pride in her small and even stitches. Her quilts, doilies, and towels were a labor of love and will always be treasured by her family and others who received them. Elsie is survived by two daughters and sons-in-law, Loretta "Lorrie" and Robert Miller, Marshfield, WI, and Norma and Ervin Ely, Bismarck, ND; nine grandchildren, Carrie Clifton Franklund, Big Rapids, MI, Paul Kristi Miller, Burleson, TX, Joan Layton Anderson, Marshfield, WI, Steve Miller, Grand Forks, ND, Dan Ann Miller, Ramsey, MN, Stephen Karen Ely, Bismarck, Rebecca John Hild, Medora, ND, David Ely, Bismarck, and Mark Theresa Ely, Golden, CO, and 18 great-grandchildren; two sisters, Martha Thomson, Beulah, ND, and Emma Bentz, Hazen, ND; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; five sisters, Laura Betz, Helen Mindt, Bertha Reich, Ida Betz, and Edna Erickson; and two brothers, Henry Betz and Ben Betz.

Elsie Reich

November 28, 1909 - June 6, 2011