Betty Lou Paulus (Spiering)

Betty Lou Paulus (Spiering) of Roseville, Minnesota passed away peacefully June 26, 2024, at age 97. She was preceded in death by her parents, Hertwig and Arthur Spiering, and her husband of almost 60 years, Delos. Survived by sons, Glenn (Nancy), Gregg (Beverly) and David Sr. (Margaret); grandchildren, Melissa (Nick) Goers, Michelle (Ben) Solberg, Matt Paulus, Erin Bolz (Josh), and David Jr. (Jenna); and great grandchildren, Aiden, Skylar, Delaney, Easton, Henry, Oliver and Jack.

Betty was born January 27, 1927, the only child of her parents, in Seattle, Washington. At the start of the Great Depression in 1929, her father lost his position in Seattle and the family moved back to Minnesota. They settled in St. Paul and her father worked for the Northern Pacific RR which meant her family could travel by rail inexpensively. This allowed Betty and her folks to visit family members in Gaylord, Minnesota, her parents’ hometown. Betty remembered times when her parents didn’t want her to know what they were talking about, so they spoke German instead. She didn’t know German, so this was very effective.

As a child, Betty thought of herself as a bit of a tom-boy, playing ball at the playground with many of her neighborhood friends. Monopoly was the new game on the market and she enjoyed that along with reading. She also remembered going with her dad to see movies at the Faust Theater on University and Dale.

During high school, Betty enjoyed school concerts and roller skating. The bombing of Pearl Harbor occurred when Betty was only 14, but she remembered it vividly. Over her remaining years at school she recalled recruitment assemblies encouraging the senior boys to enlist. Betty wrote letters to about ten of her friends who were fighting in WWII. One of them would become her future husband Delos Paulus who was in the army, stationed in Italy. Betty spent her spare time knitting and sewing which she learned from her mother, sending off items to the military, primarily the army.

Betty graduated from Mechanic Arts High School in the spring of 1944, at age 17. She soon found herself working for West Publishing in St. Paul. When the war ended, Delos returned to St. Paul and asked Betty to be his wife. They were married on December 8, 1945, she was 18 and he was 21. Soon after his discharge from the army, “Del” also found employment at West, where he worked for 40 years before retiring. They celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1995 with a lovely party, and were married three months short of 60 years. Betty truly enjoyed being a “working girl”, wife, mother, grandma, great grandma, and volunteer. Some of her favorite activities were cooking and baking, along with knitting and crocheting.

Betty and Del lived on North Grotto Street by Como Elementary where they raised their three boys. Betty was always busy with activities at church, Como PTA, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, North Dale playground, and her “Girlfriend’s” club, even volunteering at a state fair church dining hall. In the late 1950s, Betty and Del bought a cabin on Balsam Lake, Wisconsin that became the summer home for Betty and “the Paulus boys” from June thru August. Del worked in St. Paul during the week and joined the family on Friday night, then off again to work on Monday morning. This was a “rustic” cabin with no hot water and an outhouse. Betty really made the best of it, enjoying fish fries and playing cards with friends Rudy and Bernie.

When her last son started Kindergarten, Betty took a job as “Milk Lady” at Como Elementary. She later became the “Lunch Lady” at Como when school lunches began to be served, and continued there until her retirement in 1992. Betty never really retired, as she was constantly engaged in one endeavor or another. As fewer hands were available to help at Bethel Lutheran, Betty stepped in wherever she could. She even took a part-time job for a short time after Del passed away in 2005. Her most recent commitment was to Bundles of Love Charity. She was even interviewed on WCCO Television in 2010 because of her active volunteering at “Bundles” as she called it; Bundles became Betty’s passion.

Betty was a life-long member of Missouri Synod Lutheran Churches, being baptized as an infant, confirmed as a teenager, continuing to worship every Sunday until it became too difficult for her to get to Bethel Lutheran in St. Paul. She lived on her own since Del’s passing, first in their Grotto Street home, then in a condo in Roseville and only moving to assisted living in February 2023. Betty truly was a servant for the Lord till the very end. She spent the last days of her life letting Jesus know she was ready to be with him. What a blessing to know that her spirit is now safe with God.

Visitation 10:00 - 11:00 am Wednesday, July 3 at Bethel Lutheran Church, 670 W. Wheelock Pkwy., St. Paul followed by a funeral service at 11:00 am. 

Private interment at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials preferred to Bethel Lutheran Church or Bundles of Love.