Elizabeth "Betty" Weiss

Elizabeth "Betty" Weiss

Elizabeth "Betty" Weiss died peacefully on March 10, 2015, in Carson City, Nevada, at the age of 96.

Betty was born in Eve, Missouri, on February 2, 1919, to John W. and Lillian (Kearns) Gordon. She was raised on a small farm in Eve along with eight brothers and three sisters who attended a one-room schoolhouse (Shiloh) until they went to high school. The Gordon home was the gathering place for the younger generation where Betty's father (a railroader) and her brothers called at square dances. Betty, her mother, and sister Polly all played piano and loved to dance, sing, and play hymns. There was also a baseball diamond on their farm property where teams came from other towns to defeat the current champs.

Betty completed her education in a stenographic and commercial training course at Phoenix Junior College in Arizona. During this time, she lived with her eldest sister and worked as a conductorette for the City of Phoenix bus line. She and several members of her family and friends moved to Richmond, California, during World War II, where they worked in the research laboratory for the Standard Oil Refinery Company. Betty subsequently worked as an office Clerk-Typist for the Army Corp of Engineers in Oakland, California. She later relocated to Reno, Nevada, where she was a gaming industry employee for many years.

Betty was a gentle soul who had a sweet and generous nature. In 1937, the Fort Scott High School yearbook noted: "Her heart is like a garden." She loved all children and was a Foster Grandparent in the Washoe County School District for several years after she retired in Reno, Nevada.

She is survived by her daughter, Marilyn (Weiss) O'Connor, who resides in Sparks, Nevada; brother John Gordon of Clear Lake, California; sister Pauline "Polly" Alsop who lives in Overland Park, Kansas; grandsons Gordon Matthew "Matt" Knafelc of Matfors, Sweden, and John O'Connor of Fallon, Nevada; granddaughters Kara Knafelc of California, and Stephanie O'Connor of Sparks, Nevada; and four great-grandchildren (Kyle and K.C. O'Connor of Fallon, Nevada, and Harmony and Crystal Knafelc of Matfors, Sweden). Betty was preceded in death by her daughter, Jeraldine "Jerry" (Weiss) Knafelc; her parents; brothers Walter ("Walt"), Richard ("Dick"), Archibald ("Archie"), Robert ("Bob"), Vernon, Dean, and Dale; sisters Lucy Allen and Una Todd; and former husbands Quentin Wittsell, William Weiss, and Roger Coffman.

The family would like to thank the staff at Mountain View Health and Rehabilitation Center in Carson City for their kindness, compassion, and dedication. Betty's caregivers fondly referred to her as "Miss Lizzie."

A private graveside service was held at the Mountain View Cemetery in Reno on Thursday. A memorial dinner is being planned for family and close friends in remembrance of Betty.