Betty Marie Seifert

Betty was born the youngest of 8 children on April 26th, 1929 in Chisholm, Minnesota to Julia and John Breznik. At the age of 14, she met John Garver and they were instant sweethearts. John left to enlist in the United States Navy while Betty remained in Chisholm. After her graduation from Chisholm High School in 1947, Betty moved to California. After John was honorably discharged from the Navy, they returned to Chisholm and were married on April 24th, 1948. They stayed in Chisholm where Betty worked in a clothing factory and John worked in the iron ore mines of the Mesabi Iron Range and in the grocery business. They had 4 children – Ted, Dede, Bonnie and Jackie. Betty longed to return to the west so, in 1974, they moved to the Valley of the Sun. Among the first people they met in Scottsdale were Pat and Paul Seifert, neighbors and fellow parishioners at St. Daniel’s Catholic Church. The families became fast friends, participating in various parish functions through the years. Betty assisted John in his preparation for the Deaconate and Betty became very involved in the Charismatic Prayer Group. After a long battle with cancer, John passed away in 1987. Betty worked part-time for the Scottsdale School District as an Instructional Assistant. In 2002, she began dating Paul Seifert who had lost his wife, Pat, to cancer 4 years earlier. On Christmas Eve, Paul proposed to Betty and they were married on June 7th, 2003, blending a family of 10 children and 26 grandchildren. Betty and Paul enjoyed their retirement, attending daily Mass and Charismatic Prayer Group meetings, volunteering in various ministries at St. Daniel’s and spending time with family. Betty’s pride and joy was her family: Ted worked as a manager for Minnesota Power and as a volunteer firefighter; Dede worked in business and as a homemaker and now works for the Scottsdale Unified School District; Bonnie works in the business office of MEDNAX/Pediatrix Medical Group and Jackie works as an Executive Assistant at United Food Bank in Mesa. In 2013, Betty began having trouble with her voice and, in 2014, was diagnosed with ALS (aka Lou Gehrig’s disease). By winter of 2015, Betty had lost the ability to speak, sing and eat. She entered the care of Hospice of the Valley-Friendship Village on December 14th, 2015 and, after several days of prayerful time with her friends and family, she passed away peacefully on December 29th, 2015.

Betty was preceded in death by her husband, Deacon John Garver and son, Ted Garver. She is survived by her husband Paul Seifert, daughters Dede (Jim) Powers, Bonnie (Mark) Durazo, Jackie (Rob) Shelley, daughter-in-law Julie Garver, sister Catherine Sandvick, her grandchildren Tracey Eichten, Jon Garver, Travis Klein, Rachel Klein, Rebecca Powers, Leslie McKnight, Ethan Powers, Brittnye Shelley, Lcpl. Kevin Shelley, USMC, Pfc. James Shelley, USMC, Steven Shelley, and great-grandchildren Jeremy Eichten, Erin Eichten, Chloe Powers, Hunter Demming, Sawyer McKnight and Oliver McKnight.

Evening Visitation Tuesday, January 5th at 6:00 p.m. and Rosary service at 7:00 p.m. at Green Acres Chapel – 401 N. Hayden Road, Scottsdale, Arizona. Funeral Mass of Christian Burial on Wednesday, January 6th at 10:00 a.m. at St. Daniel the Prophet Catholic Church – 1030 N. Hayden Road, Scottsdale, Arizona.

Please share your memories online by visiting Facebook and asking to join the Group “Remembering Betty Garver Seifert”. In lieu of flowers, donations are gratefully accepted in Betty’s honor to Hospice of the Valley-Friendship Village PCU, 2525 E. Southern Avenue, Tempe, Arizona 85282.