Betty (Bissig) Roshek Richardson 1916-2010

ROSHEK, RICHARDSON, BISSIG, PINNEY, ERNST, WESTON, COX

Posted By: j.n. (email)
Date: 12/26/2010 at 19:50:42

Telegraph Herald
Dubuque, Iowa
Sunday, December 26, 2010

Betty Roshek Richardson

Betty Roshek Richardson, 94, of Dallas, formerly of Dubuque, passed away peacefully of natural causes on Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010, at her home in Dallas, surrounded by her loving family. She was a woman of great beauty, elegance and intelligence.

Private memorial services will be held in the spring of 2011 at Linwood Cemetery, Dubuque, followed by a celebration at her former family home, now Clarke Manor.

Betty Cecilia was born on Oct. 29, 1916, in Des Moines, daughter of Arthur and Bess Bissig. After graduating with highest honors from North Des Moines High School in 1934, Betty's family moved to Dubuque where she was first employed by Judge Thomas Nelson as a legal secretary and then at Interstate Power Co. in the administrative office.

Her father Art Bissig, was the director of several departments at the historic Roshek Brother's Department Store in Dubuque. She married Thomas B. Roshek in 1940 and moved into the Roshek family home on Clarke Drive in 1945, where she lived until 1981. Tom and Betty raised three children in Dubuque. The family adored spending time together on the mighty Mississippi River, spending countless hours entertaining and enjoying the company of family and friends. Betty also was a volunteer with The Sunshine Circle for The Finley Hospital, Dubuque.

When Betty's husband Tom passed away in 1963, she and her brother-in-law John J. Roshek sold Roshek Brothers Co. Betty remarried in 1976 to Arthur D. Richardson, senior vice president of Flexsteel Industries in Dubuque. Betty and Art's second home remained in Dubuque until Art's passing in 1999.

Betty and Art were residents of the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Fla., where she was a member of the Art League as an accomplished water color artist. Many of Betty's paintings now fill the homes of her closest family and friends. Betty and Art loved playing golf together at Card Sound Golf Club and never missed a Saturday evening of dining, drinking and laughing with dear friends at the Key Largo Anglers Club. Art and Betty also were longtime members of Birnam Wood Golf Club in Montecito, Calif., where they could be close to family.

Betty was a devoted mother, loving wife, generous grandmother and talented artist. Her many interests included reading, painting, golfing, interior decorating, cooking and piecing together intricate jigsaw puzzles. Every morning for 50 years, Betty enjoyed her cup of coffee and the daily crossword puzzle. Betty had a sharp mind and remained extraordinarily active up until the day of her death.

She leaves behind her loving children, Thomas B. Roshek Jr. and his wife, Jann, of Dallas, Stephen A. Roshek, of Denver, and Lorraine Roshek and her husband, Sandy, of La Jolla, Calif.; she will be deeply missed by her two grandchildren, Dr. Thomas B. Roshek III and Carolyn J. Roshek, both of Dallas; her loving stepchildren, James Richardson, of Dubuque, Terry Richardson, of San Diego, Nancy Richardson Pinney, of Santa Barbara, Calif.; and her dear grandchildren and great-grandchildren, all of whom reside in California; she was loved by her nieces, Sue Ernst, Mary Weston and Ann Cox; and a nephew, John J. Roshek Jr.

She also was preceded in death by her parents, Arthur and Bess Bissig; and her sister, Gladys Bissig Weston.

Betty was loved and admired by her family, friends and community. Her memory will continue to inspire all who knew her.