WALTER AND BETTY [LEIGH] CROSLEY
Walter W. Crosley was born April 23, 1915, to Ed and May (Hines)
Crosley of Santee, Nebraska. He received his education at Santee and
graduated from the Santee Normal Training School in 1934. He worked
in Springfield for a time and in 1937 spent several months in
California. He then returned to farm the home place at Santee. In
1945 he entered into partnership with his brother Jack at the Center
Garage and continued there until he died of a heart attack at the
age of 47 in 1962.
In 1946, Walter married Elizabeth H. (Betty) Leigh, daughter of
Lewis and Caroline (Breckenmaker) Leigh of Bloomfield.
Betty was born December 28, 1911, on the homestead claim of her
parents in Sykes, Montana. The Leigh family moved to Santee in 1925
and Betty attended the Santee Normal Training School where her
parents were employed. Betty’s desire to become a nurse was
fulfilled when she graduated in 1942 from the Lutheran Hospital
School of Nursing at Norfolk as a registered nurse. She found
herself being inducted into the U. S. Army as a Second Lieutenant
Army Nurse. In April of 1946 Betty and Walt were married in San
Bernadino, California. To this union three daughters were born:
Pamela (Mrs. Danny Kotrous), Verdigre, Patricia (Mrs. Dwight
Meyerink), Omaha; and Peggy (Mrs. Romulo Marcelo), Riverside,
California.
Tragedy struck the home in 1962 when Walt suddenly passed away from
a heart attack. Shortly after, in October 1963, the family moved to
Verdigre. Betty was employed since 1961 in the Verdigre Medical
Clinic by Dr. James Carlson. In the late sixties she was hired by
Educational Service Unit No. 1 as a nurse examiner of public school
children, and she continued until her retirement in 1976.
Betty was a member of the American Legion Post 259 and the United
Methodist Church.
The oldest of her daughters, Pam, graduated from Verdigre high in
1967 and attended Grand Island Business School, graduating in 1968.
On June 29, 1968, Pam and Daniel B. Kotrous, son of Ben and Irene
Kotrous, were married in Verdigre. To this union were born four
children: Dana Sue on living, Debra Jane on living, Darrell Ben on
living, and Diane Elizabeth on living.
Patricia graduated from Verdigre High School in 1969. She went to
Methodist School of Nursing at Omaha, graduating in 1972 with a R.
N. degree. On May 28, 1976, she married Dwight Meyerink of Scribner,
a graduate of Wayne State College. They live in Omaha where Pat is
working at the Methodist Hospital and Dwight for Carlson’s Systems.
They have a two year old daughter, Molly Lucile.
Peggy graduated from Verdigre High School 8n 1973. She attended
Blair College in Omaha and graduated as a Medical Assistant. She
joined the Air Force in March of 1976 and has been stationed in
Japan and the Philippines. Here she met a musician, Romulo Marcelo.
They were married in December of 1980 and have three sons: Jarrell
born living, Jeffrey, living, and Michael, born
living. Peggy is stationed at March Air Base, Riverside,
California.
Betty was killed in a tragic car accident near Valley, Nebraska, on
January 14, 1979. She loved Verdigre very much and had a hug and
kiss for everyone she met on the street.
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