Elizabeth Humphrey

Elizabeth S. (Schneiderhan) Humphrey, 96, of Great Falls, died of natural causes Saturday, Oct. 22 in a local care facility. Plans for a memorial service will be announced at a later date. Schnider Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.Elizabeth, known as Betty, was born Oct. 13, 1915, in Jordan, Minn., to A. G. Schneiderhan, a German instructor at the University of Minnesota, and Eugenia (Lamphere) Schneiderhan, a homemaker and teacher with a university degree. Betty grew up in Minneapolis during the Depression as one of three children. Her father struggled to find work and her mother also helped support the family by working as a substitute teacher. As a child, Betty often spent summers visiting her paternal German grandparents at their farm in Jordan. Betty was a diligent and talented student, graduating in 1937 from the University of Minnesota, with honors, with a B.A. in English. Through all of her schooling, she lived at home and walked two miles or more to school, even during bitter Minnesota winters. Upon graduation from the university, she moved to Boston, Mass., where she worked first at the Christian Science Benevolent Association and later at the Christian Science Monitor and the Harvard University law library. In Boston, Betty met James M. Humphrey (Jim) who attended the same church. Jim then returned to Montana and shortly after enlisted in the U.S. Navy immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He and Betty stayed in touch by letters during the war years, and eventually Jim proposed by letter and Betty accepted. They were married May 17, 1943, in San Francisco, where Betty by this time was working in war-related industries. At the conclusion of World War II, Betty and Jim moved to Great Falls, where for eight years they lived with Jim's mother, Elva, after which they had saved enough money to move into a home of their own. Together they raised three children: Jim Jr., Mark, and Jean. Betty was an energetic homemaker, an active supporter of the PTA, a devoted Christian Scientist, and very often an active participant in the family business. Betty loved the classics of English literature and often astonished her family by reciting entire poems from memory. She had the skills of a craftsman and a love for the beautiful and artistic, which she expressed in ceaseless rescuing and restoring of furniture, in extensive sewing, and in cultivation of friendships with people skilled at working with their hands. Betty loved staying at her house on the family ranch. She valued her connections with farm and ranch families which the family business brought her. Betty and Jim loved to travel, including trips to visit a daughter's family in London and Cyprus.Throughout her life, Betty was fiercely independent, practical, and tenacious, and had a deep sense of spirituality. Along with her husband, Betty was a keen observer of politics and current events, and often found herself outside the mainstream of popular opinion. Never afraid to stand alone, Betty remained true to her standards and principles throughout her long life. She is survived by her three children, James (Lucretia) Humphrey of Great Falls, Mark Humphrey of Great Falls, and Jean (Akis) Kaimakliotis of London, England, as well as by grandchildren Andrew Humphrey, Luke Humphrey, Katie (Marcus) Siddons, and Hayley Kaimakliotis. Betty was preceded in death by her husband, James M. Humphrey, by her sister, Gene Meyer, and by her brother, Richard Schneiderhan.