Funeral service for Betsy B. G. Norland of Cylinder will be held Saturday, Nov. 19, at 10:30 a.m. at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Depew. The Rev. Kevin Weeks will officiate.
Interment will be at South St. John’s Lutheran Cemetery at a later date. The Martin-Mattice Funeral Home in Emmetsburg is in charge of arrangements.
Visitation is Friday, Nov. 18, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Martin-Mattice Funeral Home in Emmetsburg.
Betsy Barnes Greenhill Norland of Cylinder passed away peacefully at the Palo Alto County Hospital in the early morning hours of Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022, at the age of 60, following a courageous battle with cancer.
Betsy Barnes Greenhill was born on June 1, 1962, in Marion, OH, the third of four children of William and Anne (Barnes) Greenhill. When Betsy was in elementary school, the family moved to Downers Grove, IL. As a student at Downers Grove North High School, she was active in jazz band and had a passion for working backstage in the theater department, mainly doing set construction and lighting.
Following her graduation in 1980, Betsy attended Iowa State University, where she majored in Horticulture, was active in the Horticulture Club, and worked at the concessions stands at home football games. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Horticulture in December, 1984.
At Iowa State Betsy met Michael Norland from Cylinder. They were married on March 16, 1985, in Downers Grove, IL, and were blessed with two children, Amy and Neal. Prior to starting a family, Betsy worked for a number of local greenhouses and nurseries. She and Mike also farmed near Cylinder for 20 years, and she was highly involved with the farm work. When they were no longer farming, Betsy began a 15-year career working for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), starting as a technician, and concluding her career as a Team Leader, collaborating with staff in a four-county area in northwest Iowa. Thirteen of those years she worked in Fairmont and St. James, MN.
Known for her creativity, Betsy had a flair for decorating, designing outdoor landscapes, baking, sewing, and canning. She found joy in gardening, bird watching, serving as a 4H Dog Club leader, and especially training and showing several dogs, for which she built her own agility equipment to practice at home. Betsy was especially fond of her most recent dog, Wren. Through the years she served on the Extension Council and more recently on the Board of Directors of the Key City Kennel Club in Mankato, MN.
Betsy was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother. Taking on the challenges of having a child with special needs, including making countless trips to doctor and specialist appointments and physical therapy sessions, as well as developing creative accommodations at home, she maintained a positive, can-do attitude.
Her favorite place to unwind was her family’s cabin in northern Wisconsin, and she tried to go there at least once each year to relax and enjoy nature. Boating, swimming, fishing, hiking, and bird watching were all on the agenda.
After going through breast cancer treatment eight years ago, Betsy enjoyed seven good years before the cancer returned. When it became evident how extensive the cancer was, she was determined to focus on having the best quality of life in the time she had left, and she did. Betsy thoroughly enjoyed each day she had with family members and friends. She especially appreciated every moment she spent with her granddaughter, and Emma warmed up to her from the start. Grandma Betsy was the baby whisperer.
Betsy will be deeply missed and remembered with love by her husband Mike, daughter Amy (Scott) Funke of Rochester, MN; son Neal, at home; and granddaughter Emma. She is also survived by her mother Anne of Downers Grove, IL; sister Jennifer (Mark) Hoskins of Bartlett, IL; and brothers Douglas (Kathy) Greenhill of Houston, TX; and John Greenhill of Downers Grove, IL. Other survivors include her sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law Teresa (David) Goddard of Montevideo, MN; Barbara (Charles) Corr of Clinton; Patricia (Greg) Wolf of Urbandale; Cynthia Norland of Algona; Jeffrey (Annette) Norland of Marion; and Lorelei (Sean) Patterson of Naperville, IL; her aunt Noel Hinde of Carmichael, CA; and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her father William, her father-in-law and mother-in-law Gerald and Virginia Norland, and her brother-in-law and sister-in-law John and Jerilyn Reit.
The family requests that memorials be directed to breast cancer support and research through the B the Light organization or the Susan G. Komen Metastatic Breast Cancer Collaborative Research Initiative.
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