Elizabeth J. Niemi

NIEMI, Mrs. Elizabeth J.
Kalamazoo, MI Died Monday morning April 23, 2012. Betty Wallus was born August 10, 1923 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She had been a lifelong Kalamazoo area resident and was employed with the Kalamazoo Public Schools for 25 years before retiring. She met her husband, Leo Niemi at Fort Custer where he was stationed at the beginning of WWII. They were united in marriage on December 26, 1942. Betty loved the arts, as a child she began to dance and continued to dance throughout her life. Betty loved to make things herself from pottery to painting to making her yard bloom. Aunt Betty had a gift for making her nieces and nephews feel like they were very special. She also encouraged them to achieve their best. Betty and Leo spent their winters at Harbor Isles in North Port, Florida. Betty was preceded in death by her husband, Leo Niemi on March 2, 2012; 3 sisters, Anna Long, Helen Neal, and Olga Wallus; and a brother, Peter Wallus. Betty is survived by 5 nieces, Kathy Long of East Lansing, MI, Carol John Lutz of Warsaw, IN, Betty Long of Barryton, MI, Joan Burkett of Mendon, and Denise Crouch of East Lansing, MI; 3 nephews, Ken Kathy Niemi of Port Huron, MI, Bill Peggy Niemi of White Lake, MI, and Rich Janet Pelto of Marquette, MI; several other nieces and nephews; and a sister-in-law, Nancy Wallus of Kalamazoo. Graveside services will be held 12 noon Friday at Fort Custer National Cemetery. There will be no visitation. Memorials may be directed to the Salvation Army or the West Michigan Cancer Center.