Elizabeth Beutel Hanley

Hanley, Elizabeth Beutel (Ossanna) After 87 years of an overflowing abundance of life, Elizabeth peacefully went home to the Lord Jesus Christ February 7th, 2007 at The Colony in Eden Prairie. Preceded in death by son, Richard R. Ossanna; husbands, Fred A. Ossanna, Jr., James W. Hanley; brother, Richard Beutel; parents, Dr. A.P. "Dutch" Beutel and Belle Beutel. Survived by sons, Fred A. Ossanna III (Ginny), Michael P. Ossanna (JoAnn), Christopher B. Ossanna (Ann); brother, Phillip Beutel; grandchildren, Tiffany, Brittany, Hillarie, Michael, Fred IV, Jenna, Doug, Holly and Becca; great-grandchildren, Madeleine, Emerson, Elliot, Miles, Xiola; and many nieces and nephews. Elizabeth was born and raised in Midland, Michigan, where her father was a vice-president for the Dow Chemical Company. She rode horses and loved nature as a child. She grew to appreciate fashion and received a degree in costume design at the Modern School of Applied Art in Boston. During WWII, she returned to work on the home front of the Ossanna family farm, with her husband Fred, who could not serve overseas because of disability. After the war the family lived in Austin, Texas, where Fred was a college professor, and Elizabeth began to raise the first of their four boys. Elizabeth survived with her son Chris the October 1964 small plane crash which took her husband Fred's life. She fought her way back to health, and remarried James W. Hanley. After James' death in 1973, Elizabeth became president of Sunset Memorial Park, and successfully ran the business until retiring in 1984. She distinguished herself as the Twin Cities' first female president and owner of a cemetery. Elizabeth loved to travel, and after retirement she visited Egypt, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Greece, Belgium, and many interesting places in the US. As a long-time lover of Agatha Christie novels, her most notable adventure was to ride on the Venice-Simplon Orient Express and walk in the footsteps of her favorite sleuth Hercule Poirot. She remained active in retirement, volunteering over a decade at Methodist Hospital as a "Pink Lady", and wrote about her interesting life as part of the Minnetonka Seniors writing club. Special thanks to the excellent staff at The Colony in Eden Prairie, and Hospice of the Twin Cities. A celebration of Elizabeth's life and Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 AM, Saturday, Feb. 10th at St. John's Catholic Church, 6 Interlachen Road, Hopkins, MN, 55343. Visitation one hour prior to Mass at church. Memorials preferred to St. John's. SUNSET 612-789-3596
This obituary was originally published in the Star Tribune.