Elizabeth "Betty" Braunschneider

With unwavering faith and unending love for her family, Elizabeth Braunschneider was a blessing to everyone she met.

During the decade that is recalled as the Roaring Twenties, Hershel and Victoria (Lowe) Turner were pleased to announce the birth ot their daughter, Elizabeth M. on October 24, 1927, in Somerset, Kentucky. She was an only child and loved hanging out with her girlfriends and going to the movies and local dances. Betty attended local schools in Somerset where she graduated from high school. She also held down a job working the soda fountain at SS Kreskeg’s Dime Store.

Life was forever changed for Betty when she met the man of her dreams while visiting a girlfriend in Kokomo, Indiana. He was a young Navy man from Grand Rapids, Michigan, named Frederick Braunschneider. They began dating, soon fell in love, and were married on March 23, 1946, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Grand Rapids. The newlyweds returned to the East Coast where he fulfilled his military duties. At that time they moved to Grand Rapids where they lived above his parents in a home on Broadway Avenue.

Second only to her faith was Betty’s family. She and Fred were blessed with the births of five children, Janet, Daniel, Kenneth, Stephen, and Joseph. Their family moved around a bit in Grand Rapids, and they also moved to Kalamazoo, to Columbia, South Carolina, and also to Racine, Wisconsin. They always attended Catholic churches nearby including St. Jude, St. Mary’s, Holy Spirit, and Holy Trinity. Some of their best memories were made at their cottage on Big Star Lake in Baldwin where they spent their summers beginning in 1960. There was plenty of boating, fishing, skiing, and overall family fun all summer long. Betty’s skills in the kitchen were fantastic with her specialties including her German potato salad, chocolate chip date cake, and chocolate glop. In addition to caring for her family, Betty knitted and crocheted, and she was an excellent seamstress who made several items for her family. She also did ceramics classes and loved playing bridge with Fred and other couples. Betty was thrilled to become a grandmother, and she never missed a special day. Betty was deeply saddened with Fred’s death in 1976. It was 12 years ago that she moved to Tecumseh, Michigan, to be closer to her family as she also suffered with macular degeneration. She volunteer for the Association for The Blind as long as she was able.

Although Elizabeth “Betty” Braunschneider will be deeply missed, she leaves behind a brilliantly colored mosaic of memories that her loved ones will forever cherish.

Elizabeth M. “Betty” Braunschneider, aged 87, formerly of Grand Rapids, passed away on Friday May 1, 2015 in Tecumseh, MI. She is survived by her children, Janet Rehrauer, Daniel Braunschneider, Kenneth Braunschneider (fiancée Pearl Greenlaw), Stephen (Valery) Braunschneider, Joseph (Michelle) Braunschneider; 10 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren; other nieces, nephews and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband Frederick Braunschneider, her grandson, Jason Walczewski, and her son-in-law, Timothy Rehrauer. Betty was a loving and dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother who loved her family. She will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered. A service to celebrate Betty’s life will be held on Thursday morning, May 7, 2015 at 11:00 am at Heritage Life Story Funeral Home-2120 Lake Michigan Dr. NW. Burial in Mt. Calvary Cemetery. Relatives and friends may meet her family at the funeral home on Thursday from 10:00 am until the service begins at 11:00 am. Contributions in her memory may be made to American Lung Association or Association for the Blind. To read more about Betty’s life, to leave your own memory of her, archive a photo and to sign her guest book, visit her web page at www.lifestorynet.com