Betty A. Nesbit
On Monday, November 1, 2010, Betty
A. Nesbit of Billings passed away with her husband of
fifty-three years, Charles, at her side. Betty was born on
December 18, 1927, in Wisconsin to Art and Rose Thompson.
She moved as a young girl to Grand Rapids, Minnesota, where
she attended grade school and high school and, later,
college at Bemidji State. Most of the time she stayed with
her mother (her father had died when she was only two), but
because her mother was often away teaching in rural schools,
she sometimes lived with relatives and friends. Out of
college, she taught English for a year at Detroit Lakes and
then moved to San Jose, California, to be with her mother,
Rose, and stepdad, Alf. She taught English there for a year
before, at the urging of a college friend, Maureen (Rip) Van
Winkle, who was already teaching at Billings Senior High,
she applied for and got a teaching job with School District 2.
She taught for four years at Senior High, and then a year
after she and Charlie got married (since according to School
District 2 rules, a married couple could not teach in the
same building), she transferred to Lincoln Junior High. She
loved it there, but when a year later West High opened, she
agreed to move to Billings West and sponsor, with her
husband, the Billings West High Majorettes. Late in her
career Betty switched from the classroom to counseling, a
job for which her years as Mother Superior to the Majorettes
had seemed a good preparation
Theirs was a long reign. They started with eight girls
(chosen at Senior High), jumped very quickly to sixteen,
expanded to twenty-four, and in only a few years marched a
full forty-eight. Of the fifty-one years she worked for
School District 2, she was sponsor of the West High
Majorettes for forty-three. Highlights were the big
tournament halftimes and several trips to Orlando, Florida,
for national championships.
The rest, as Shakespeare has already said, is silence.
Accordingly, a poem "Silence" by Edgar Lee Masters was,
perhaps, her favorite poem, a proof of which the many red
marks in the margin of her old Adventures in American
Literature give colorful testimony. She referred to it often
when she was worried about the worth of her own words. There
is the silence of "a great love," "a deep peace of mind."
There is the silence of a "spiritual crisis," "of the dying
whose hand / suddenly grips yours," of "broken nations and
vanquished leaders." There is the silence "of age, / too
full of wisdom for the tongue to utter it."
…….. of Lincoln,
……… of Napoleon
After Waterloo.
And the silence of Jeanne d' Arc
Saying amid the flames, "Blessed Jesus"-
Revealing in two words all sorrow, all hope.
Why , Masters wonders, though he may offer small comfort
here,
……..do [we] marvel that the dead
Do not tell [us] of death?
Their silence shall be interpreted
As we approach them.
Preceding Betty in death are her mother and father (Art and
Rose Thompson), a step dad (Alf Ohman), a sister (Mary Jane
Johnson), and Arline Jerome, seamstress for, and fairy
godmother to, the Billings West High Majorettes for over
thirty years. Surviving are her husband, Charles; a brother,
James Thompson; a bevy of special friends-Bill and Mary
Jensen, Dr. James (Jamie) and Karen Baker, Sue and Daren
Stanaway, Sjur and Beverly Gjerde, Lynn Jensen, Grace
Nesbit, Doreene Nesbit-and a battery of beloved nieces and
nephews from both sides of the wedding aisle.
Also surviving are some very loyal colleagues from both
Senior and West, and of course, a host of former students
and Majorettes, whose names do, indeed, get scrambled with
time but whose faces are ever clear. How pleased she was,
always, to have someone just ease up to say, “I am sure you
don't remember me, but...” Perhaps that is why she would
like for Charlie to say here, at the end-for them, and for
her, too-this favorite Majorette good-bye: “God be in your
pillow(s)!”
Betty's life will be celebrated on Saturday, November 6, at
Michelotti-Sawyers Mortuary at 10:00 a.m. Michelotti-Sawyers
is located at 1001 Alderson Avenue.
In the long struggle please, please to be well again she asked often just to sleep next to Charlie one more time, just to lie cuddled-up against Charlie one more time. That wish will have to be on hold now for another day.
Remembrances
Please leave your name and remembrance in this public guest book. Your comments will be shared on this page and forwarded to the family.
Dear Mr. Nesbit,
We also feel a great loss in the passing of Betty. Our daughter was on
the West High Majorettes for four years. Betty and you where very
instrumental
in our daughter's overall education. The love and encouragement that
both
of you placed in the heart of our daughter helped mold her into the lady
she
is today. For this my wife and I will always be grateful. Betty will be
missed by many of the girls and parents that had the opportunity to be
West
High Majorettes. The two of you will always be dear in our hearts.
Please
know that we share in your loss and that you are in our prayers.
Fred & Sherry Henslin
Dear Mr. Nesbit,
What a beautiful gift of 53 years together. I am so sorry for your
loss! Her passing is felt by many, but I can't imagine it for you...
again I am sorry. My love and prayers are with you!!! Lorie Greer-
Majorette, class of 84'
Dear Mr. Nesbit – My thoughts and prayers are
with you at this time. Although I have lived in Arizona longer than
I ever did in Billings, my thoughts often strayed to wondering, “
What are Mr. and Mrs. Nesbit doing now?” My memories of my majorette
years are good ones.
In majorettes I learned discipline, timeliness (not only in marching
to the beat, but getting to practice 15 minutes early to warm-up),
organization, professionalism, and accomplishing the feat always to
the best of my abilities. Thank you both for these attributes; they
have been helpful in my every day life.
Mrs. Nesbit will be missed by all who ever spent any time with her.
Thank you both for sharing your time, your energy and your love with
us all.
Denise (Hafner) Monaco 1970 to 1973
Dear Mr. Nesbit:
I am so sorry to hear that Mrs. Nesbit passed away. I'm one of those
"I'm sure you don't remember me..." from many years ago (1974-76).
You, Betty and the "majorette experience" are fond memories for me.
Some of my dearest friends are those I made while in the majorettes.
I hope you find peace and comfort in knowing so many others share
your loss and wish you well.
Tami (Bjerke) Amala
Dear Charlie
I am so sorry to hear of Betty���s passing. I was a Majorette back in
87-90 and the memories I have from that time will always be with me.
You and Betty were such wonderful leaders, friends, and like family
to so many of us majorettes. That organization was so amazing under
your leadership and it will never be the same. My heart goes out to
you for your loss. Betty will be missed by so many. I hope to see
you Saturday, but if I am not there, it is because I am in the
hospital giving birth to my second son who should be arriving any
day now. But you are and will continue to be in my thoughts.
Anne Marie Keene Kloppel
Mr. Nesbit,
Peace to you. Betty was a special lady and she like you will always
hold a special place in my heart. ~hugs~
Michelle McLean Guelff
Dear Mr. Nesbit,
Although Mrs. Nesbit taught me how to better my writing skills, I
know that my words of condolence will fall far short of expressing
my sadness upon hearing that your wife ( and my former English
teacher from 1959-1961) has passed. David Howlett called me this
morning to me know. I guess it just emphasizes how she impacted her
students. She was more than a teacher of English, she was also an
example of inspiration to her students. She was (and will always be)
a woman I held in highest esteem.
Karen (Troy) Mychaluk
Dear Mr. Nesbit,
I am so sorry to hear of your loss.
I am one of “your girls,” having been a majorette from 1976 – 1978.
I learned so much from the both of you. I stand up straight, strive
for perfection, smile and I still don’t chew gum to this very day.
What a legacy she leaves. Betty Nesbit represented class, and taught
me and so many other impressionable high school girls how to be
tough and lady-like at the same time – that brains counted as much
or more than beauty. She was one-of-a-kind.
With my fondest regards,
Jill (Gibson) Renna
To Mr. Nesbit and the countless individuals
who loved Betty:
I send my deepest condolences for your loss. The impact that you and
Betty had on the lives of so many young people is priceless and
cherished. I will never forget the early morning practices, the long
road trips, the discipline, and the hard work we put in as
majorettes. But what I remember the most is the incredible feeling
of pride and joy at the end of a great performance. You and Betty
took us to a place of greatness, and for this I will be eternally
grateful.
I am so proud to have been a part of the BWHS majorette legacy, and
I am honored to have known both you and Betty. She will be missed.
With great love and respect,
Debbie (Hines) Kola
BWHS Class of ‘87
Dear Mr. Nesbit:
Thank you for this beautiful writing to honor Mrs. Nesbit. Thank
you, too, for the many years of your lives that you dedicated to
giving young girls a place to discover and develop their unique
strengths and talents. Back in the late 70s, there weren’t many
opportunities for girls to shine – to learn leadership, discipline,
the importance of teamwork, the satisfaction of setting goals and
meeting them, and the feeling of achieving excellence. The two of
you made all that possible for so many young women, and with the
skills you helped us develop we’ve gone on to change our corners of
the world for the better. I can’t thank you enough.
Tammy L. Pust
Oh, for the words of Emily Dickinson or W. H.
Auden, to adequate
express my grief at Mrs. Nesbit's death. You both taught me the
power
of words, but I am wordless at this great loss. She played an
amazing
role in my life, and I am bereft at her death. The world is
diminished in her passing. Take comfort in knowing how many lives
she
influenced, in realizing how many people loved her.
Linda Dahlstrom Stone, BHS '58
I, too, was sorry to hear of the passing of
Mrs. Nesbit. I was in the first graduating class of Billings West
High and had Mrs. Nesbit as my English teacher for two years. It was
because of her that I became an English teacher myself. She was so
inspiring! Also, I enjoyed seeing her at some of our class reunions
over the years. She was truly a lady! I know she will be missed by
many.
Sandy (Aleksich) Pedersen (Class of 1962)
Mr. Nesbit,
I am truly sorry for your loss. Mrs. Nesbit was a phenomenal woman
as you well know and will be dearly missed by all whose lives she
touched. She made all of her majorettes better women just by knowing
her. Thank you for sharing the love of your life with all of us
girls for all those years. I have fond memories of her (and you)
from my four proud years as a Billings West High Majorette! Sending
love and hugs your way... God Bless!
Sincerely,
Natalie Sorlie-Hill
Majorette 1991-1995