Betty Griste Obituary (2021) – Tucson, NM

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BETTY MALAINE GRISTE
Betty Malaine (née Bazel) Griste of Tucson died on October 2, 2021 at the age of 98 by her bedside with her devoted son John David. Despite a life of serious illness, she was always an uncomplaining survivor. Born to Laura and Cyril Bazel of Burlington, Iowa, she was their long-awaited, blonde, beautiful firstborn. Betty Malaine graduated from Burlington Iowa High School. She received her BA / Teacher Certificate in 1945 from Iowa State Teachers College, where she was a member of the Delta Phi Delta Sorority. She was inducted into Pi Lambda Theta, a national honor society for educators. Her closing headline read: “There is a touch of femininity, a charming demeanor and shy reserve in Betty’s radiant smile.” At her prom, she was picked off the dance floor as one of the 1945 Old Gold Beauties. During her college days she was a model. She recently admitted that she was secretly recruited during World War II to watch for Nazi submarines attempting to travel up the Mississippi. Her reticent demeanor belied her resolute nature and first-class wit. In the 1960s, she completed a master’s degree from the University of Arizona. For 40 years she was a popular first grade teacher and mentor to countless children – the best part she spent at Mission Manor Elementary School, Sunnyside District. In her retirement, she was an avid reader, news fanatic, and globetrotter. Her unabashed appreciation for history and cultures led her to travel the world. Your favorite country to visit: New Zealand; their most fearless journey: the USSR before the fall of the Berlin Wall. She was a lifelong opera lover and a dedicated member of the Arizona Opera Guild. For the last 25 years of her life, she has enjoyed her annual visits to the Santa Fe Opera. Although she was impeccable and always the lady, she had a dry sense of humor and enjoyed verbal resistance. She also had a fondness for a glass of champagne – anytime, anywhere! So we celebrate an extraordinary, well-lived life together with family and friends.
Betty Malaine leaves behind her daughter, Cynthia (Justin) Evans of Gilbert, Arizona; Son, John David Griste MD of Santa Fe, New Mexico; and son Allen Heck from California. She also leaves behind a valued niece, Mary (Mark) Sharp, of Las Vegas, Nevada, and her daughter, Andrea, of New York. The family would like to thank mom’s incomparable carer Paula Farhat and the wonderful nayas at the hacienda by the river, where mom spent her last 5 years.
Instead of flowers, Betty Malaine asked that we celebrate her death with an act of kindness. And, as she always ended our nightly phone calls, “Good night and good dreams”.

Published by Santa Fe New Mexican October 8-10, 2021.

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