Ruth "Bette" Heise Obituary

    Ruth Elizabeth “Bette” Heise, 90, of Lake City, passed away on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015 at Mayo Clinic Health System – Lake City.  
    She was born Oct. 4, 1925, in Lake City to Leo and Ruth (Wagner) Wiley.  She grew up and attended school in Lake City. Bette received her nursing degree from St. Joseph’s Teaching Hospital in Red Wing.  She was a registered nurse for 52 years at the Lake City Hospital. On Nov. 28, 1946, she married Ralph “Bud” Heise at St. Mary’s Church parsonage in Lake City. They started farming in 1948 in Gillford Township and retired in 1979. She was a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Frontenac. Bette liked to fish, play cards, knit, garden, and spend time with her family.
    She is survived by her daughter, Carol (Gary) Kuphal of La Crescent; two sons, Donald (Kathy) and Wayne Heise, both of Lake City; 23 grandchildren; 38 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and four siblings, Bill (Dolores) Wiley of Lillington, N.C., Pat Savage of Lake City, David (Janet) Wiley of Forest Lake, and Joann (Bill) Plante of Bella Vista, Ark. She was preceded by her husband, Bud; daughter, Diane Milstead; and six siblings, Lorraine Fick, Gene Wiley, Dennis Wiley, Mary Ellen Wiley, Jim Wiley, and Philip Wiley,
    The funeral service was Tuesday, Nov. 10, at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Frontenac with Rev. Stephen Kurtzahn officiating. Burial followed at Frontenac Cemetery. Mahn Family Funeral Home, Anderson-Peterson Chapel - Lake City handled arrangements. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.mahnfamilyfuneralhome.com.