Elizabeth Betty Huss

Rosary: Tuesday, December 28, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. at Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home in Miles City

Vigil Service: Tuesday, December 28, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at Stevenson & Sons Funeral Home.

Mass in Latin: Wednesday, December 29, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Miles City.

Rite of Committal: Family lot of the Calvary Cemetery

Elizabeth Ann Betty Huss of Miles City passed away at her home Sunday, December 19, 2010 after enjoying life for 90 years.

Betty was born October 24, 1920 in Rolla, North Dakota, the daughter of Lawrence Kelly and Hazel McMaster Kelly. She had one brother, Lawrence Junior Kelly. She attended elementary schools in Dickinson and Miles City and was a graduate of Custer County High School in 1938. On October 22, 1941 she and Dewey Huss were married in Miles City, where she continued to reside until her death.

Betty and Dewey had four children, Dr. Mary E. Huss Walta of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Dr. Lawrence D. Huss (Nancy) of Wilsonville, Oregon, George W. Jerry Huss (Jana Mueller) of Miles City, and Maggie (Bob) Sampsel of Helena. To her dismay, despite her best efforts in raising them, none of her children could find productive work and all became lawyers. Betty achieved professional status as a mother and homemaker. On Tuesdays she would clean the house so that her cleaning help that came in on Wednesday wouldnt think she was a poor housekeeper. Sheets were laundered and ironed. There was no such thing as wash-and-wear. The washing machine rumbled day and night. The ironing board was a permanent fixture. The mangle was her weapon of choice. There were no quick breakfasts and microwave lunches. Meals were cooked to order with everyone having menu choices broader than the 600 Cafee. There was always a full, hot dinner waiting whatever time you arrived in the evening. She was a gourmet cook before the word came into vogue.Betty attended every school event, music recital, and sporting event in which her children were involved. She monitored innumerable scouting and school projects and was a tough task master. No one got away with much in the house or the neighborhood, thus earning Betty the moniker of Beady Eyed Betty among her children and their neighborhood accomplices. Once they were finally extracted from the house, Betty presided over more arguments among her lawyer children than most sitting Supreme Court justices and was rarely impressed or swayed by any. In her later years, her standard response to a conversation she was tired of listening to was Why dont you write me a letter
on that?

Her political interests consisted mainly of biennially canceling out the vote of her staunchly conservative son, Larry. Dewey and Betty helped form the Custer County Art & Heritage Center and she served on the Art Center Board of Directors for many years. Dewey and Betty collected Western art and traveled throughout Montana and the West attending art auctions and meeting artists. Betty pursued her interest in art by studying oil and watercolor painting under John Janutis.Betty was a devout Catholic, attending Mass on a daily basis far beyond the point that her health permitted. She was a member of St. Anns Circle. She volunteered many hours at the St. Vincent DePaul store, served on its board, and became an accomplished rag maker.In 2006 she surprised everyone, including her family, by entering the Matched Bronc Ride at the Bucking Horse Sale, but finished out of the money.

When her health failed, Betty made her home with Judy and Ryan Cooper, and their daughter, Christy, at Corner Lot Care, where she received excellent care and provided lots of entertainment in return.

She was preceded in death by Dewey in 1987, her parents and her brother. In addition to her children, she is survived by her grandchildren, their spouses and their children, Mark Walta, Esq. and Danielle DiMauro, Esq. and their children, Skylar and Brooks Walta, of Denver, Colorado; Jason Walta, Esq. and Kim Scheckner, Esq., and their children, Lily and Mila Scheckner, of Silver Spring, Maryland; Michael Walta, M.D. and Julie Silverhart, M.D., and their son, Eli Walta, of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Daniel Huss and Alicia Montoya Huss, and their children, Ayla and Livia, of Parker, Colorado; Robie Huss Knox and Scott Knox, and their daughter, Audrina, of Bend, Oregon; Trevor and Donna Huss, and their child making its debut in May, 2011, of Edina, Minnesota; Matt and Elizabeth Roberts and Lane Roberts of Missoula; Vanessa Malley of Miles City; Joe Sampsel of Polson; and Marybeth Sampsel, Esq. and Paul Sullivan, Esq. of Bigfork.

In lieu of flowers, contributions to the Custer County Art Center, P.O. Box 1284, Miles City, Montana 59301 would be appreciated.