Elizabeth Bogart "Betsy" Grein

Elizabeth "Betsy" Bogart Grein

1945-2025

Elizabeth "Betsy" Bogart Grein, 80, of Whitehall, Mich., a loving sister, wife, mother and grandmother, former newspaper advertising executive and entrepreneur, died in her home on Oct. 22, 2025, of interstitial pulmonary fibrosis and lung cancer.

Elizabeth Mumford Bogart was born Sept. 21, 1945, at Evanston hospital in Evanston, Ill., the fourth child of George and Louise Bogart of Kenilworth, Ill.

Betsy thrived in the presence of friends and family. She enjoyed sharing stories from her life and travels, but she especially loved hearing about other people's adventures. She was a wonderful hostess who had a glass, fork, salt shaker, tureen, or silver serving piece for every occasion. She enjoyed using proper etiquette and a nicely set table every day, not just special holidays and events.

Betsy had many vivid and fond memories of growing up in Kenilworth, a community 15 miles north of downtown Chicago on the Lake Michigan coast. Among them were the memories of the meetings of the "Genius Club," when she and her siblings (Peter, Jane, and Mary Lou) would create, learn, and rehearse a small play to perform on Christmas mornings for their parents.

During the summers, Betsy and her family spent many months at their cottage on Sylvan Beach in Whitehall, Mich., from the time Betsy was two years old. She grew up on the beaches of Lake Michigan, boating and water skiing on White Lake, and making friends that would last a lifetime.

Betsy attended The Joseph Sears School in kindergarten through eighth grade, attended various reunions throughout the years, and kept up with her closest classmates all her life.

When she was 14, she moved to Florida with her parents and Mary Lou and spent two years there before returning to Kenilworth to attend New Trier High School, from which she graduated in 1963.

After high school, she attended Michigan State University. She entered college as an education major, but quickly determined that being a teacher in front of a room full of children was not for her. She met and fell in love with the love of her life, Thomas William Grein. Tom engineered a grand "viral" proposal that was photographed and featured nationwide when he spraypainted the words "Betsy, will you marry me? Tom" on four large bedsheets and hung them on the side of the house. They married on Dec. 30, 1966, at Kenilworth Union Church. Tom went on to graduate from MSU with a degree in journalism, which soon led them to Nashville, Tenn.

While in Nashville, Betsy started a career in insurance at Continental National American Insurance Company as an adjudicator. She quickly discovered the industry was not prepared for smart and strong female employees when her award for completing training was a necktie tack.

Tom was transferred by Gannett Newspapers to Lafayette, Ind., where they started their family and had three beautiful children, Katherine "Katie" Grein Moore, William "Will" Grein and Molly Elizabeth Mentzel. While in Lafayette, Betsy worked at JCPenney and the Underwood Insurance Agency.

After 11 years in Lafayette, Betsy and her family moved to Fremont, Neb., where Tom served as an editor for the Fremont Tribune newspaper. Tom was transferred again five years later, and the family relocated to Herndon, Va., a suburb of Washington, D.C.

In Herndon, Betsy began working as an advertising salesperson at The Herndon Observer newspaper. Upon learning that the newspaper's owner and founder was interested in selling, Betsy and Tom bought the business in 1990. Tom became the editor and publisher, and Betsy took over advertising sales.

Under Betsy's leadership, The Herndon Observer grew to include editions in the nearby communities of Reston and Herndon, and had a total circulation of more than 100,000 editions per week. She was an ever-present member of the business community, served on the board of directors for the Herndon-Dulles Chamber of Commerce, and heavily supported businesses in the area.

She served on the board of directors of the Council for the Arts of Herndon as a strong supporter of arts in the community. She was a longtime supporter of the Herndon Historical Society, contributing to their work through donations of time, newspaper advertising space, and her own campaigning. She was also a member of the Herndon Women's Club.

In 2003, she and Tom moved to Michigan permanently to live in Whitehall, where she became involved in a number of community organizations. She served on the board of directors for the Friends of the White River Light Station, working to preserve the historic lighthouse.

She was also a supporter of the Arts Council of White Lake and worked to promote and encourage the development of arts in the community. Betsy was also a member of the American Association of University Women, an organization that provided her with a wealth of friends and many opportunities to serve her community. She served as the organization's historian, attended every meeting, and was always active as a hostess or co-hostess.

Betsy had a unique ability to make friends and maintain close relationships for life, and she was sustained by those relationships and the love shared with friends. Her family is eternally grateful for those many people who comforted her in the last months of her life.

The lights of her life were her six grandchildren, to whom she loved to teach life lessons, whether they wanted to learn them or not. She was unafraid to make sure young people knew about her generation, from the rules of proper etiquette, to why one should know how to read and properly fold a paper map, to the fine art of good communication.

Betsy is survived by her three children, Katherine Grein Moore, William Reitter Grein, and Molly Elizabeth Mentzel; her sons-in-law, Christopher L. Moore and Fredrick Stuart Mentzel, and daughter-in-law, Monica Margaret Grein; her six grandchildren, Jackson and his wife Allie Mentzel, Anna Mentzel, Audrey and Charlie Moore, and Tyler and Brady Grein; her sister Jane Bogart Sellers; her sister-in-law Janis Elizabeth Bogart; and many nieces and nephews and their children. She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, her sister, Mary Lou Bogart Jenkins, and her brother, Peter Crossley Bogart.

Betsy was interred at Oakhurst Cemetery in Whitehall, Mich., next to her husband, Tom. A celebration of Betsy's life will be held during the summer of 2026 in Whitehall. Details will be forthcoming.

Donations can be made in Betsy's memory to Harbor Hospice, whose caregivers were no less than angels during her last year. To donate, click here or visit http://harborhospicemi.org/

Beacon Cremation & Funeral Service, White Lake Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.

www.beaconfh.com