Elizabeth (Betsy) Nyssen

The definition of heaven is to look back on your life and be able to hold your head high. None can hold their head higher than Elizabeth “Betsy” Nyssen. She was a vibrant young lady who found the best in every day. From her early arrival to her early departure, Betsy’s energy and determination filled her life and the lives of those around her with warmth and “sparkle.”

The sixties were an amazing decade for our country. It was the decade of “Civil Rights” and protests, “hippies” and Woodstock, J.F.K. and men on the moon. Wonderful events were taking place everywhere. Robert and Mary (Feenstra) Nyssen, living in Grand Rapids, Michigan, were impatiently awaiting their own wonderful event – the birth of their first child. Elizabeth Jo Nyssen, eager to enter the world, was born prematurely on July 28th, 1965, weighing just 3 pounds, 12 ounces, and 16 inches long. “Betsy”, as her family called her, spent her first three weeks of life in the preemie nursery of the hospital. Doctors held little hope for her future and advised Robert and Mary to put their daughter in an institution, certain that she would never walk or talk. How wrong they were!!

With loving parents to support her, Betsy began to grow and thrive, proving her doctors wrong, time and time again. She became part of the growing Nyssen family, and big sister to Barbara, Brooke and Wendy. Betsy had a life to live. She spent her early education years at Pine Rest Day School, where she went far beyond mere walking and talking. From Pine Rest she progressed to the Christian Learning Center in Grand Rapids. With an education geared to her special gifts, Betsy was able to get a job. Her first job was filing invoices for Lumberman’s – a position that required concentration and responsibility. She also worked at Great Day Foods in the bakery and in general merchandise, pricing items. With Carolyn Steenstra as her job coach, Betsy worked at Great Day for 17 years, “retiring” when the supermarket was sold. She then worked for her mother’s medical billing service. Betsy was most certainly a responsible and contributing member of society.

Betsy had many interests and activities that brought her enjoyment. Like most young people, she loved to eat at fast food restaurants, especially Arby’s and Taco Bell. Having a definite like for certain foods, she always ordered the same meal at each restaurant. She liked the “Kid’s Meals” because of the toys they included. Betsy had collected over a thousand of them, many of which she donated for different church projects.

She loved sports, with a special love for any Michigan team. Whether it was professional teams like the Tigers, the Pistons, the Red Wings, college teams from U of M and MSU, or local teams like the Whitecaps and the Rampage, Betsy was one of their most faithful fans, win or lose. She had a t-shirt and cap for every team, and when more than one team was playing on a single day, she dressed in layers, in the order of the games, and peeled them off as each new game started. Good fans are very knowledgeable about their teams and Betsy was no exception. Birthdays were celebrated at a Whitecaps game, with Betsy’s name projected on the scoreboard. And no matter the score, this faithful fan always stayed until the last out of the last inning.

Betsy was not only a spectator but also a participator. She loved to bowl and had her own ball, shoes and other necessary equipment. Each year she would bowl in the Christian Learning Center’s annual fund-raiser, and what she lacked in skill she more than made up for in enthusiasm. Betsy could read and spent hours diligently copying library books into loose-leaf binders. She had hundreds of copied books, her own personal library.

Besides her younger sisters, Betsy had a special bond with her nieces and nephews. They shared a fierce love, one which Betsy treasured. Her room was always a special place for the nieces and nephews because it was filled with all kinds of toys. Whenever a niece or nephew was born, if it was a girl, Betsy was sure they should name it Emily, and a boy should be Matthew. Apparently, her sisters didn’t agree with her, and Betsy had to settle for a cat named Emily.

Birthdays were always a special time for Betsy and it didn’t have to be her birthday. She loved to pick out big, wordy, “sappy” cards, and this became somewhat of a family tradition. For anniversaries, her parents and her sisters received beautiful flowers. Betsy never missed a birthday or anniversary. She kept a calendar and was always looking ahead. She liked to know what was going to happen next and not be surprised by anything unexpected. Things needed to be in their proper order and predictable. Betsy’s own birthday, beside the Whitecaps game, required a gaudy cake from Great Day Foods, covered in mounds of sweet, colorful frosting, with sports figures featured on the top. When Halloween came around, the nieces and nephews were treated to cupcakes, covered in the same sweet, colorful frosting.

Betsy made many friends during her short life. She attended Friendship Club for many years and Marianne Stehouwer was a long time special friend. With thoughts for others, she knitted many caps for her church to give to migrant families and also for her precious nieces and nephews. With an eye for color and sparkle, Betsy liked to wear colorful nail polish and never felt constrained to wear the same color on all ten nails. She had her own sense of style and often wore many different colors – and the more glitter, the better.

Elizabeth “Betsy” Nyssen knew the value of every day and blessed those around her with her own personal sparkle. This sparkle will light the way for family and friends until they all meet again.

Miss Elizabeth “Betsy” Nyssen, age 39, passed away unexpectedly at her home and is now dancing before the Lord, free of her earthly restrictions. Surviving are her parents Robert and Mary Nyssen, her sisters, Barbara (Michael) Martin, Brooke (Jay) Wayman, Wendy (Donald) Sutherland; her nieces and nephews whom she dearly adored and who loved her back without reservation, Micah, Jacob and Lydia Martin and Emma Sutherland. Also surviving are her aunts and uncle, Joan Feenstra, Marge Deppe, Ruth and Gary Edema and several cousins and special friend, Marianne Stehouwer. Friends may greet the family Saturday from 7-9PM and on Sunday from 2-4 and 7-9P.M. at the Heritage Lifestory Funeral Home – Alt & Shawmut Hills Chapel, 2120 Lake Michigan Dr. N.W., Grand Rapids. Funeral services will be held Monday at 11A.M. at Highland Hills Baptist Church, 1415 Northrup N.W. with Pastor Dave Lamb officiating. Interment will be in Rosedale Memorial Park. Please visit Betsy’s personal memory page at www.lifestorynet.com where you may share a memory, sigh the online guest book or make a memorial contribution. Memorial contributions may be made to the Christian Learning Center or Highland Hills Baptist Church.