Elizabeth T. (Krock) "Betty" Wall

Clearwater, FL

Elizabeth T. Wall age 97 of Clearwater passed away at her home on Monday, February 24, 2020. Aunt Betty had a very good run. The last of the 10 children of Vannette Lafontaine and George Krock to leave this earth, Elizabeth Wall passed away in her sleep early Monday morning, February 24, 2020. She was 97. Born June 4, 1922, she was a woman well ahead of her time; an adventurer, an explorer, a dabbler, an eternal optimist, a true renaissance woman! As a single professional she was the head dietitian at the South Chicago Community Hospital for 7 years, and then helped manage the cafeteria at the University of Hawaii. In her 30s she embarked on the first of many international travels. She toured the world alone for 9 months, visiting 52 countries and traveling 60,000 miles by camel, donkey, elephant, jeep, train, and airplane (yes, really, alone and on camels and elephants!). She fell in love with the Far East and set her sites on returning. She earned a Masters degree in Nutrition from Case Western Reserve and became a nutrition expert for the United Nations, serving for two years in remote regions of the world including Indonesia and Basutoland (now Lesotho). Home again, she married the man of her dreams, Daniel P Wall, in 1966 and together the set up a way station on the beach in Hawaii that welcomed all manner of friends and relatives for 30 years. She worked for the health department and started a long crafting tradition. She wove rugs, napkins, placemats, and dishtowels for more than 40 years on a 40” 4-shaft LeClerc floor loom. She made ceramics, first from molds, then using a potter’s wheel that Dan built for her from a washing machine motor. She filled her kitchen with cups, bowls, plates and platters. She took up basketry and made countless baskets friends and gave them to friends and relatives. She dove into various cuisines and took up trading and collecting recipes. She dabbled in selling real estate, started an Amway business, took up carpentry and stained glass. She wrote Christmas letters chronicling her adventures alone, and then with Dan. She included her favorite recipes and sometimes a paragraph on the importance of nutrition. She lived life fully, embracing old and new friends and family. When Dan passed, Betty relocated to Clearwater, FL, where she continued throwing pots and weaving on her LeClerc, she took up spinning as well. She volunteered for the Clearwater Aquarium and for the County Senior Services Center. From her bed, she could see her beloved, spectacularly blooming Christmas Cactus and poinsettias. She could see down the canal and across old Tampa Bay. She felt blessed by the view, by the occasional dolphin sightings, and by the team of angles who cared for her. She died peacefully in her sleep. She is survived by countless nieces and nephews whose lives were generously enriched by knowing her. We will all miss her.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be Monday, March 2, 2020 at 11:00 AM at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Eastman, WI, Rev. Rajan Anandan officiating with burial in the church cemetery.  Friends may call on Sunday, March 1, 2020 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the Garrity Funeral Home in Prairie du Chien, WI. www.garrityfuneralhome.com

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