Betty Jean Young

January 29, 1926 - September 27, 2020

Memorial services for BETTY JEAN YOUNG, 94, will be held at 10:30am Wednesday, September 30, 2020 at the Henry/ Lyman Methodist Church with Reverend Joe Schumacher officiating. Betty Jean died September 27, 2020 at Heritage Estates in Gering, Nebraska and cremation has taken place. Memorials may be given to the Henry/Lyman Methodist Church. Arrangements are by the Colyer Funeral Home and condolences may be sent to www.colyerfuneralhome.com. Betty Jean Young was born on the family homestead to Freda and John Heiser on January 29, 1926. She was joined by sister Fern and later Shirley. They had a simple childhood filled with memories of gathering eggs, milking cows, herding cattle, but her most loved experience was music. She attended Kautzer school until the eighth grade and during those years her teachers from school would come to the house to teach piano, tap dance and violin. Betty excelled at piano and always wondered why anyone would not want to practice. They attended the Henry Methodist Church in Henry, Nebraska. Betty became a member and couldn’t wait for her turn to play for church. After attending Kautzer school she attended Lyman High School and was valedictorian of the Class of 1943. After graduation she worked in Torrington, Wyoming at Citizen’s Bank where her job was to return checks with insufficient funds by walking around town returning them to respective businesses or individuals. She lived in Torrington during the week and took the train from Torrington to Henry on the weekends. As she returned to Henry, she would stop at the church to practice for the Sunday service. She continued to play for church, rarely missing a Sunday until she was ninety-two years old. As the church combined with neighboring communities, she would sometimes play for three different churches on a given Sunday morning. In June 1946 she married Frederic Young at the family homestead as he returned from World War II. Following their marriage, they lived in Lyman where they raised their three children: Donald, Julie and Jeane. Betty was active in the community playing for church, graduations, weddings, funerals and accompanying for school plays. Often, she was accompanied by her daughter Julie who had a beautiful voice. Julie always said, "We make a great team." Betty worked as a secretary for the family run business a local lumber yard and later Harpstreith Bean which then sold to Kelley Bean. Betty was an active member of Eastern Star and belonged to the organization in Lyman and the Sunflower Chapter in Mitchell, Nebraska. She also held the position of Grand Organist for the State of Nebraska and was a member of Chapter M, P.E.O. Betty was an eighty-four year member of the Henry/Lyman Methodist Church. She gave piano lessons to many youth in the area and was an expert knitter. She gave knitting lessons to 4-H members and made beautiful sweaters and other items for family members and friends. Sewing was an important part of her life, sewing clothes for her family or doll clothes for a favorite toy. When the holidays rolled around, she spent several weeks perfecting her candy recipes and shared her holiday treats with family and friends. She was best known for her perfected fudge recipe which was shared at various holidays throughout the years. Holiday dinners were a special time for family to be together. Preceding Betty in death were her parents; husband; daughter Julie; and both sisters. She is survived by her son Donald and wife Carole of Torrington, Wyoming; daughter Jeane and husband Steve of Lyman, Nebraska; granddaughter Kate and husband Shane of Longmont, Colorado with great grandson Stratton Henry; grandson Mark and wife Jenna on the family homestead along with great grandsons Preston and Hudson; and son-in-law Larry Christofferson. Betty will always be remembered by her gift of sharing music.