We have lost our anchor. Our Mom, Elizabeth (Betty Jane Keyser) Van De Ven died on December 6, 2022, and left us all with our hearts hurting and a huge hole in the center of our family. Mom lived to be 93 years old, and we were very lucky to have had this wonderful woman in our lives for this long.

Elizabeth was a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great-grandmother, daughter, sister, sister-in-law, cousin, aunt, niece, and friend. Born in 1929 in Sturgeon Bay, she married the love of her life, Clayton Van De Ven on June 18, 1949, helping him to build their house in west De Pere and making it a home for her beloved family. They had seven children, her heart breaking when her second child Vicky, died at 3 days old from the overwhelming medical issues she was born with. She made the most of every day of the rest of her children's lives, making certain that we all knew we were cherished. She provided us with a view of the world that encompassed the word compassion, as well as simple but wonderful experiences that opened our eyes to the beauty around us.

Elizabeth was an amazing and accomplished artist in all kinds of media – painting in oils, pastels, acrylics, watercolors, enamels, woodcarving; paper mâché; capturing real spider webs on beautiful backgrounds she had made; creating recycled art with found objects; writing poetry; as well as songwriting. At times she wrote poems almost daily, with subjects ranging from dark to spiritual to light-hearted, working through her emotions and thought processes, and delighting more than one resident and staff person at McCormick Assisted Living where she has resided the last 3 years, with a personalized poem. She wrote her life story, giving all of us a precious gift of her memories of growing up during the Depression and her many imaginative adventures at the farms she lived on with her siblings, especially her brother Bud who was her shadow and willing accomplice. She credited the angels her mom asked to watch over them with saving their lives during some of her more dangerous adventures. She worked so hard as a farmhand to win her father's approval and helped her often ill mother with the younger children, learning a work ethic that she and Clayton passed on to all their children.

She was adventurous and daring. She picked beans for a week to earn enough to take a 15-minute plane ride with a barnstormer when she was twelve – during which she agreed to and encouraged the pilot to perform loop-de-loops – scaring her father who watched from the ground. She played softball on a team which had to fight to get their "women's" games scheduled in the parks. She dreamt of becoming a race car driver or a pilot. She decided to take up downhill skiing in her 40s and became skilled enough to go skiing in the Austrian Alps with her daughter Sherry. She was almost always the driver when she and her friends traveled to Florida, braving mountains, and large cities with nervousness but determination. She was a blood donor to the Red Cross, a helper at her children's grade school, and donated her art to countless charities for their fundraisers. She wanted to act in local plays – she was cast, but her nerves prevented her from following through, one of the very few times she wasn't able to overcome her fears.

She graduated from a one-room schoolhouse – meeting her life-long friend Audrey Pahl – and attended De Pere High School, quitting at age 15 to work as a maid and cook, as well as helping her great friend Teresa Nies to care for the children in the Dr. Ted and Josephine Lenfesty home. Jobs at the telephone company and Milprint followed, until she married Clayton and became pregnant, at which time she became a full-time Mom and homemaker – her very favorite role in life. Over the years, she held numerous part-time jobs at which she would work when Clayton was home and the kids were sleeping or old enough to be independent, including cleaning in a bank and private residences, serving as a companion and caregiver for multiple individuals, learning to cut mats and make frames at framing stores, babysitting, selling Avon, becoming a clown (her favorite paying job), as well as selling her wonderful art.

After saving for years, and using a small bequest from her mom, Elizabeth accomplished a life-long dream when she purchased a large garage on some land north of Bailey's Harbor. She and Clayton spent years turning it into a cabin, doing almost all the work themselves, but enjoying it at each stage of its progress. This was her artist's retreat, and she lived there as much of the year as she could. Anyone traveling with her up to the cabin noticed her relax and become more content, the closer she'd get. This was her happy place where she saw trees out of every window – a legacy for her children, grandchildren, and on – with the wish that it remains in her family for generations.

Her kindness and generosity were only part of her charm. Like her daughter Sherry, she lit up a room when she entered, and everyone wanted to be near her and speak with her. Elizabeth never lost her sense of humor, her courage, or her zest for life, even as her physical limitations confined her more each year and she lost the independence she cherished. She was so loving, offering to be an "adopted mother" to her children's friends, and providing encouragement and praise to everyone around her.

She is survived by her children: Judy (Joe) Lallaman; Connie (Scott) Greenawald; Mike (Michele) Van De Ven; Jim Van De Ven; and Michelle (Mike) Hagerty; son-in-law Dennis Devenney, grandchildren: Christopher (Susy) Devenney, Joey (Kim) Lallaman, Corey (Peggy) Bristol, Jon Bristol, Cory Greenawald, Heather (Joe) Zapata, Nicole (Tony) Greenawald Wiltgen, Mike (Alicia) Van De Ven, Jr., Adam (Lindsay) Van De Ven, Alex (Kejel) Van De Ven, Nathan Van De Ven, Jessie (Stu) Zywicki, Emily (Brandon) French, Jacob Hagerty: great-grandchildren: Kylo Devenney, Angela Stollfus, Zachary Stollfus, Shawn Ignarski, Dakota Peotter, Jaden (Corey) Grutza, Chrissa Bristol, Vanessa Bristol, Logan Zapata, Gavin Zapata, Ethan Zapata, Milo Merkle, Cody Van De Ven, Aurora Van Den Ven, Kaylan Van De Ven, Anna Van De Ven, Asher Van De Ven, Beckett Van De Ven, Blakely Van De Ven; great-great-grandchildren Augustus and Elaine Grutza, Bailee Matthews, Hunter Matthews; sisters: Jenny Anderson, June Kurowski, Elaine (Dick) Baeten; and many cousins (who called her Betty Jane), nieces, nephews, and many, many friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband Clayton, daughters Sharon "Sherry" Ann Devenney and Vickie Lynn, grandson Paul Van De Ven, parents Theodore & Ann (Vanden Broek) Keyser, sister Dorothy (Keyser) Van De Ven, brother Norbert "Bud" Keyser, many in-laws, aunts, uncles, cousins, and numerous friends.

A visitation will be held on Tuesday, December 13 from 4 pm to 7:00 pm, with a parish prayer service at 7 pm at Ryan Funeral Home, 305 N 10th St, De Pere. A further celebration of her life will be held on Wednesday, December 14, with visitation from 10 am to 11:30 am, with Mass of Christian Burial at 11:30 am at Nativity of Our Lord Parish 2270 S Oneida St, Green Bay, WI 54304, to be followed by a luncheon in Bona Hall at the church.

The family extends their appreciation to McCormick Memorial Home for their loving care. An often-overheard exchange involved staff telling her they loved her. McCormick is a true treasure in our community. We are also grateful to Unity Hospice for the kindness and expertise they shared with us during these last weeks of Mom's life.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in her name - in memory of Sherry - are suggested to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for research for a cure: online at: https://www.nationalmssociety.org/Donate, or mail to: 1120 James Drive, Suite A, Hartland, WI 53029; or to Unity Hospice, online at https://unityhospice.org/ or mail to: 2366 Oak Ridge Circle, De Pere, WI 54115.

Messages of condolence for the family may be left on the Ryan Funeral Home website at: www.ryanfh.com