Elizabeth “Betty” Gutmann passed away peacefully on July 13, 2020, surrounded by family. A long-time resident of Bloomington, MN, she was predeceased by her husband, Helmut R. Gutmann, and survived by children Ruth Hennig, David Gutmann, Michael Gutmann (Sandy), and Rebecca Younes, and grandchildren Jenin, Jelal, Amin, and Sharif Younes; Danny (Mely) and Marla Gutmann; Maggie Gutmann and Katie O’Brien.

Born Elizabeth Bacon Manuel in Waltham, Massachusetts to Margaret M. Bacon and Cornelius W. Manuel, Betty displayed her drive and independent spirit early on, working her way through Boston University to earn a Bachelor’s degree in botany and become the first member of her family to graduate from college.

After graduating in 1942, Betty joined the Waves, the US Navy’s corps of women, with the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade. For the duration of World War II, she was stationed in Washington DC, where she worked as a message decoder, often delivering classified messages to the White House. Betty, in uniform, was traveling on a train when she met her future husband and lifelong companion, Helmut R. Gutmann. He boarded the train, surveyed a nearly empty car, and asked Betty if the seat next to her was free. She said yes and he sat down. They were married on May 12, 1946 in Montclair, New Jersey.

The couple began married life at Yale University, where Helmut worked in a research laboratory while Betty pursued a Master’s degree in entomology. Following several early career moves, the young family settled in the Twin Cities in 1952. Busy as a stay-at-home mom to their four young children, Betty still found the time to actively participate in and assume leadership roles with the League of Women Voters and the nearby Unitarian Universalist church. In 1966, Betty and Helmut, along with other local UU-ers, founded the Minnesota Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (MVUUF), of which Betty was a lifelong member and supporter. In many leadership roles through the years, she was instrumental in growing the nascent congregation into a vibrant and active community of over 150 members.

When the children were older, Betty began work at the Veterans’ Administration Hospital in Fort Snelling, MN, as the executive assistant to the head of research administration. A model of energy and organizational skills, she had wide-ranging responsibilities that included implementing new federal guidelines for the treatment of animals in laboratory research.

In 1999, after both Betty and Helmut had retired, they moved to Friendship Village in Bloomington. Retirement afforded them the leisure to pursue lifelong passions: travel, classical music, birdwatching, the natural world, and, of course, visiting their children and grandchildren. Betty continued her involvement with the MVUUF and the League of Women Voters, in addition to becoming actively involved in committee work at Friendship Village.  She founded the Mindstretchers group; chaired the residents’ council and health care committee; and spearheaded successful efforts to expand the educational scholarship program for Friendship Village nursing staff to include all employees, and to increase the number of private rooms in the architectural plan for the new health care center.

Throughout her life, Betty devoted herself to the values she held most dear: family, service to the community, and intellectual growth. In addition to her own active engagement, she supported causes that promote these values and improve the lives of others through ongoing generous donations to local orchestras, public media, educational and religious institutions, and political action groups. Betty’s  strength, determination, and fortitude in the face of adversity meant that when she put her mind to something it got done. This is the lasting legacy she leaves to her children, grandchildren, and the communities she worked so tirelessly to support.