On July 3rd, between the earthquakes and thunderstorms, in Central Nebraska, Elizabeth "Betty" found her way home to Jesus. Her last meal was a bowl of vanilla ice cream, which was considered a necessary staple in her home. She loved traveling, baking, tinkering with recipes, and putting together puzzles.

She was married to Verne Elliott for 58 years prior to his death in 2007. Every August, they loaded their kids into a Dodge station wagon pulling a pop-top camper. They vacationed for two weeks, enjoying many national parks and historical sites. We children can still remember all the arguments between our parents about "finding the perfect camping spot" each time we reached a new campground. Mom cooked evening meals over the campfire and breakfast on a Coleman two-burner stove. We would wake to the wonderful smell of frying bacon.

An ongoing family joke has always been about fruitcakes. Some of her children are fruitcake lovers and the others are fruitcake haters. Elizabeth loved baking at the holidays and giving away her sweet treats. These consisted of at least 50 fruitcakes, with her special recipe, and dozens of at least 20 different varieties of cookies and candies.

She grew up on a farm, in Shelby, Iowa, where she was born on April 3, 1926, to German immigrant parents, Richard and Kathryn (Lustgraaf) Messerschmidt. Her early recollections were dressing chickens and ducks to be sold in town as well as her fear of the big plow horses. After graduating from high school, she took the train to Omaha, Neb., each week to attend business school and eventually to work at Omaha Cold Storage. Here she and her girlfriends would find their way to the docks during break time, flirting with the boys. One of those boys later became her husband.

Together, Verne and Elizabeth built a life in Council Bluffs raising six children and were active members of Holy Family Parish. She started working at the Holy Family cafeteria washing dishes and eventually worked her way up to head cook and manager of the St. Albert Primary School cafeteria. After her retirement, she kept right on cooking. This time for Micah House, a transitional home for families, where she was awarded Volunteer of the Year award.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Verne; her parents; and her siblings, Louise Donahue, Jerome Messerschmidt, and Alice Hoffmann; and one great-grandson, Landon Parker.

She leaves behind her legacy of six children, Vince, Mary Becker (Mike), Ramona Goldsberry-Heeter (Richard), Donna Elliott (Ben), Tim (Brenda), and Mark, (Lisa); 11 grandchildren; 16 great-grand-children; and many loving nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, July 8th, from 4 to 6 p.m., at the Cutler-O'Neill-Meyer-Woodring Funeral Home. A mass will be held at St. Mary's Catholic Church, in Avoca, Iowa, on Monday, July 9th, at 10 a.m. A dinner, at the church, will be held after burial services, at the Avoca Cemetery. A memorial service and a catered dinner will be held at St. Agnes Catholic Church, in Arnold, Neb., on Sunday, July 15th, beginning at 5 p.m. All her friends and church family are invited to attend. Memorials can be made to the Arnold Community Theater where Elizabeth volunteered selling tickets and enjoyed watching movies.