Betty J. Flanders

If you lived in Ann Arbor, Tecumseh or Saline from 1941 until 2012 and you asked anyone: “Who are

the musicians in town?” one name would have consistently come up: Betty Flanders. “You should

meet Betty.”

Literally thousands of local people heard Betty play the piano or organ for over 70 years in our

community. She played for supper clubs, VA patients, radio audiences, union Christmas programs,

school kids, community theater, parades, churches, service clubs and a few thousand other venues. If

you wanted THE best accompanist for your solo and ensemble school test, maybe you would be lucky

enough to talk Mrs. Flanders into doing it. She was a professional musician for all of those years who

wanted to make sure that the music for any event was done right and everyone in attendance had fun.

Betty Jayne Rossbach was born on a small farm in Union City South Dakota on October 28, 1923. She

was the only child of Eunice and Carl Harold Rossbach. From a very early age Bet' took over the

entertainment for all of eastern central South Dakota. In elementary and high school if you wanted

something with music in it, you asked Betty Jayne Rossbach.

The depression and the dust bowl days forced many midwestern farmers off of their land. As part of

the generational migration ,like so many others, Carl Rossbach moved his family to Michigan because

that is where the jobs were. But Betty had met a young man in the CCC camp near their home back in

Alcester South Dakota, and following a pattern that began on the day she was born, Betty did things her

way, and she and William (Bill) Flanders, secretly eloped and were married while he was on a leave

from boot camp. Before he was sent to Europe to fight in World War II, Bill and Betty did what all of

our parents did and conceived a child. It was on a transport ship that Bill received a telegram saying

“Son born. Both well.” Bill thought he was coming home to two sons. Turns out he got that wrong

and Bill came home to find Van Ross Flanders, his first born, single, son.

On the home front Betty continued to hone her musical skills. She was becoming a gifted interpreter of

many musical styles. She was being recognized as someone who could play anything. And she

volunteered to play for everyone. With a new name like Flanders her patriotism skyrocketed. Local

organizations began asking her to recite a poem she had memorized in high school back in South

Dakota. For decades, it just wasn't right if Betty Flanders wasn't there to recite “In Flanders Fields” on

Decoration Day.

And it was the music that drove her to do more for 'the effort'. She volunteered and was accepted into

the USO system. Despite objections from her Mother and Father, she joined the traveling USO review

to entertain the troops before they shipped out. 'That piano player kid, Betty, she can transpose and

play in any key - see if she is available.”

Meanwhile Bill fought in the Ninth Armored Division, under General George Patton, in the Battle of

the Bulge. He returned from the war and Betty returned from the USO to set up a new family in the

sleepy little town of East Ann Arbor Michigan. Bill went to work for the University of Michigan and

Betty played the piano for anyone who would stand still long enough to listen. Soon she formed her

first band and was a proud member of the Ann Arbor Musicians Union. While working at the U of M,

Bill became one of Ann Arbor's first TV repairmen after using the GI Bill to attend the DeVry Institute.

Betty expanded her musical career by teaching piano to hundreds of kids in East Ann Arbor and later

on the west side of Ann Arbor.

In 1950 they had a second child, Gary Leonard. And four years later Bonnie Jean came along. The

whole time Betty continued to play and teach music. She and Bill were very active in the Ann Arbor

VFW Post 423. Bill was Post Commander in 1960 when Post 423 was the largest VFW in Michigan.

Betty and Bill attended the 1960 National VFW convention in Los Angeles where they both shook

hands with a certain Democratic Senator who was running for President. Betty was the President of the

VFW Ladies Auxiliary in 1961. Her band that she formed in 1947 continued to play all over the Ann

Arbor area.

Betty's reputation spread and she was asked to participate in more and more events. Her ability to

explain and teach music lead to her first full time music job with the Wurlitzer Company in downtown

Ann Arbor. She had a successful stint with Wurlitzer before she and Bill got the itch to try a retail

music business. Non competition clauses lead them away from Ann Arbor and they opened Flanders

Music in Tecumseh Michigan.

Son Van met a girl at a dance in Ann Arbor and Pam soon joined the family. First grandchild, Michelle

was born while Van was in basic training in Washington state and remains the honored first born for

Grandma Flanders. When Van was deployed to Korea, Michelle and Pam came to stay with Grandma

Betty. Van and Pam returned to Tecumseh after the service and grandson Mark, who also turned out to

be a fine musician, was born. Michelle has two children: Chelsey and Bud. Mark has two also: Jake

and Jadon, both proud members of their school bands.

In Tecumseh Betty's musical talent and entrepreneurial spirit brought her to local community theater

where she starred or did all of the music for the Tecumseh Players for over a decade. She also began

her radio career by initiating and starring in a daily radio show Tecumseh Spotlight that ran for over ten

years on radio station WLEN. For years she sat in the large front display window of Flanders Music as

she played, sang and interviewed stars of local and national renown on “Betty's radio show.” Very few

people in Lenawee, Jackson or Washtenaw counties had not heard Betty's voice singing or talking to

someone of interest on the radio.

For over ten years Flanders Music served the people of Lenawee county with Betty and Bill seeing to it

that folks had musical instruments and a way to enjoy music all the time. Son Gary worked with mom

and dad at the music store all through high school and college. He was the record buyer and introduced

Tecumseh to the Beatles, The Rolling Stones and a few hundred other 45 RPM artists. Gary fell in love

with his next-door-neighbor and Denise soon joined the family. A new grandson, with a Rock-N-Roll

name, Leon Russell was Gary and Denise's first born son. Leon has three children: Haley, Ryan, and

Brody. Michael William joined the family while Gary was a minister in Illinois. As each new person

joined the family, they all understood that Betty was an outstanding musician and someone who did

things a little differently.

Daughter Bonnie was the only one of Betty's kids who had a talent for music. She played the clarinet

in high school and was also a very good pianist. It was a challenge to be a musician in the shadow of

someone like her mom. In 1970, an international exchange student program contacted Betty and said,

“We are about to accept our very first student from an eastern European country. We have never asked

anyone to host a student from the former Communist country of Yugoslavia. Would you and Bill

consider it?” No challenge was too big for Betty, so she talked Bill into it and our precious sister, Nela,

came into our life to live with us for one year and to stay in our hearts forever. Nela has two children:

Milena and Milan.

Bill made it through the depression, World War II, and a life of hardships, heartaches and triumphs only

to be felled by cancer in 1978. Betty was heartbroken but carried on, allowing her music to be the

friend she had leaned on since she was a small child. Her band continued to play and she even made

an attempt to put out some albums.

Another grandchild who displayed musical talent and went the farthest in his musical career was the

last grandchild born, Alex William, born to Bonnie in Ann Arbor. Alex watched his grandmother play

for audiences for his whole life. He would stare as she touched the piano keys and sang with her huge

smile. Al, acting like his Grandmother, took on the challenge and played clarinet in the Grammy Award

winning Pioneer High School band. He also took to the stage and became the main lighting man for

the Pioneer Theatre Guild. Al kept right on going and played “Hail to the Victors” in front of crowds

regularly over 110,000 people in the Michigan Marching Band at The Big House . Betty's wardrobe

turned maize and blue in proud support of her grandson. Even in her last days, she coached Al through

his University of Michigan education, telling him to “wear pinstriped suits” in his legal career.

As the years advanced Betty could still be heard around the area. Every Ann Arbor Memorial Day for

28 straight years featured a recitation of “In Flanders Field” at the city wide service. Mayors and

congressmen called her and said it would not be the same without Betty. One of her proudest

accomplishments was reciting her poem and singing at the Arlington National Cemetery for their

Memorial Day observance.

She moved into a senior complex in Saline where all of the shows featured Betty and the Boys, her last

name for her band. She attracted an impressive array of local musicians, including Jack and Sue

Kurgin and Joe Labuta. Well into her 80s Betty was moved into the Evangelical Lutheran Home in

Saline. Despite advancing arthritis and nerve damage to her right hand she still pecked out the chords

and was the leader of her band. Betty and the Boys did shows regularly for all of the residents at the

home and they were a vital part of the activities for five years. Everyone loved Betty, who could still

remember all of the words to all of the songs and at 89 was still singing harmony with anyone who

wanted to put on a mini show in the hallway.

On Tuesday, December 18th Betty started a new gig. She is playing piano and we are sure arranging

songs for a new band. We all hope that those guys on trumpet, sax, standing bass and drums are good

musicians. Betty is hard to keep up with, but you can be sure Betty will have the new band sounding

mighty good very soon.

Join us for a celebration of her life on Saturday January 19, at 2:00 pm at the Fellowship Baptist

Church, 1045 W Bemis Rd, Saline. It will be fun and a little different, sort of like Betty.