Elizabeth "Betty Jo" Gray

  Funeral Service Postponed to Wednesday: Will be held at 2:00 PM Wednesday, February 23, 2022 at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Page, ND.

Betty Jo Gray, 86, of Page, ND passed away peacefully on Monday, February 14, 2022 at Bethany in Fargo under the care of Hospice.

   Elizabeth JoAnne Visby, known to her family and friends as Betty Jo, was born on July 18, 1935 in Hope, ND to Vivien and Geneva Visby. She grew up on a farm near Hope. She was confirmed at Blabon Lutheran Church. She graduated from Colgate High School in 1953. After high school, she attended training for airline passenger scheduling in Kansas City and then worked at Northwest Airlines in Milwaukee for two years.

   Betty Jo and Martin were married in Blabon, ND in Steele County on October 16, 1955. Because of her employment with Northwest Airlines, they received free flights to New York City for their honeymoon. They lived and farmed near Page, ND where they worked as a team to sustain and grow their farm. They were members of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Page where Betty Jo was very involved. The farm kept her busy, growing vegetables, cooking meals, baking bread and raising a family. She was a charter member of the 61 Homemakers in 1961.

   Betty Jo enjoyed traveling with Martin, often accompanied by family or Farm Bureau friends. After many years of bringing their children to a resort on Cotton Lake with friends and neighbors, they chose a cabin on Big Floyd Lake, Detroit Lakes, MN. For many years, they spent winters at Venture Out in Mesa, AZ where Betty Jo enjoyed tennis, bocce ball, warm weather, and the company of many friends and neighbors. In 2020 Betty Jo and Martin moved to Fargo, ND and in 2021 to Edgewood Vista Assisted Living.

   Most of all, Betty Jo loved her family. Time with children, grandchildren, sister and brother, inlaws, nieces and nephews, extended family, friends and neighbors was more important to her than anything. She loved birthday parties, holidays, anniversaries, church and community gatherings, and going to sports and music events of her children and grandchildren. In recent years, she enjoyed the blessing of getting to know six great-grandchildren.

   She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother Jerry Visby.

   She is survived by her husband of 66 years, Martin; four children - Kathleen (Larry) Anderson, Lori (Dale) Bjerke, Brad (Cindy) Gray, Joni (Todd) Nelson; sister - Kaye (Loran) Severson; eight grandchildren - Luke (Liz) Anderson, Beau (Kayla) Gray, Krista (Preston) Steele, Jake Nelson, Ben Nelson, Erin Bjerke, Andrew (Aly) Gray, Paige (Collin) Roesser and six great-grandchildren.

Visitation:  Will be 2–3 PM on Sunday, February 20, 2022 with a 3:00 PM Public Prayer Service at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Page, ND and will resume one hour prior to the service.

Funeral Service: Will be held at 2:00 PM Monday, February 21, 2022 at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Page, ND.

Burial: Will be in the Page Cemetery in Page, ND.