Elizabeth "Betty' Quade Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Elizabeth V. “Betty” Essert Quade, 92, died Monday, June 27, 2016, at the Powell Nursing Home, where she had been a resident for the last 18 months. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, July 1, 2016 at the First Wyoming United Presbyterian Church. Burial will follow at Valley View Cemetery. Colyer Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements Betty was born in Yoder, March 20, 1924, during a blizzard that prevented her parents, William and Margaret Essert, from getting to the Torrington hospital for her birth. Betty loved growing up in Yoder and kept close lifelong friendships with her childhood friends. A bright woman, Betty graduated high school at the age of 16, and found her way to Colorado State University, where she thrived in her sorority, Delta Delta Delta, again making lifelong friends. She recalled there were six “Bettys” in her sorority, and each had a different nickname. Betty became “Betty Vi,” and also wrote a column for the sorority newsletter, “Bits by Bets.” After obtaining her degree in home economics education, Betty moved to California and loved teaching her high school girls in San Bernadino and at Colton Union High School. Among her favorite memories of the time, were going on a date to a party at Alan Ladd’s home. Betty met Bob Quade at a dance in Torrington and the couple wed on the groom’s birthday, Dec. 18, 1949. A few months prior to her wedding, Betty had traveled to New York City with her parents, where she purchased her wedding gown. The newlyweds made their first home at the University of Wyoming in married- student housing while Bob finished his degree in agriculture. Upon Bob’s graduation from UW in 1950, the couple moved to Basin, where Bob began his career with the university extension service. The birth of their first daughter, Gloria, soon followed, and two years later, son Stan was born. The Quades moved to Buffalo in 1954 and were later joined by Dave and Laurie. Betty thrived in Buffalo with a great group of friends from Music Club, which performed Broadway musicals “South Pacific” and “Oklahoma,” among other productions. Betty also became involved in PEO and the Republican Party. She continued involvement in these organizations throughout her lifetime and loved representing its members at state and national conventions. She traveled to Houston, Baltimore and Seattle as a delegate to national Republican and Federation of Republican Woman conventions. While attending a convention in 1964 in New Orleans, Betty and Bob drove through a hurricane! In a letter to her mother-in- law about the trip, Betty wrote, “Gusts of wind nearly blew the car off the road and the rains pelted these brave pioneers, but on they went.” Through her activism in women’s organizations, she was appointed by then- Governor Stan Hathaway to the first Wyoming Women’s Commission, which studied and made legislative recommendations regarding such issues as wages and health care. She continued to be a staunch advocate for women’s rights throughout her lifetime. During the Quade’s 20 years in Buffalo, Betty was a frequent substitute teacher, then obtained her real estate license in the early 1970s. When the family moved to Torrington in 1974, Betty was the first female real estate agent in Goshen In addition to being a 4-H leader, Betty belonged to the Cattlewomen’s Association, Eastern Star, American Legion Auxilliary and many other community organizations. She and Bob were also regular fans at Torrington and Southeast high schools and Eastern Wyoming College sporting events. Always ready with a big smile, Betty loved to entertain and dance! She would teach tap dancing to anyone, anytime, anywhere, and is fondly remembered for wearing red, white and blue and dancing to “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” She loved Big Band and patriotic music and Broadway show tunes and would tap her foot and respond to music long after Alzheimer’s Disease robbed her of so much of her vibrant personality. Even to the end, however, Betty flashed her pretty smile and charmed her caregivers at the Powell Nursing Home. She will be greatly missed. She is preceded in death by her husband Bob, her parents, and her brother Bill. She is survived by daughter Gloria (Jerry) Bruner of Rock Springs, sons Stan (Meg) of Sheridan and Dave (Lily) of Cheyenne, daughter Laurie (Jason Jones) of Cody; granddaughters Elaine Quade of Cheyenne, Pepper (Shawn) Stevens of Sheridan, Libby (Brandon) Vince of Howell, Mich., grandsons Ben (Sylvia) Bruner of Buffalo, Sam (Ashley) Bruner of Wellington, Colo., Dan Bruner of Laramie, Eric (Sally) Quade of Laramie and Simon Bagne of Cody; great-grandchildren Greta and Gabe Bruner and Blake and Charlie Stevens, and one more on the way; and her brother, Doug of Yoder.

Elizabeth "Betty' Quade

March 20, 1924 - June 27, 2016