Elizabeth (Betsy) Helen Jorgensen

On September 25, 2023 Elizabeth (Betsy) Helen Jorgensen, age 72, passed away peacefully at her home in Nibley, Utah due to complications of Lewy Body Dementia. Betsy was surrounded by her loving husband Jeff and sons Travis and Dane at the time of her passing.
Betsy was born in Long Beach, California on June 26, 1951 to Richard and Grace Wilson. She was the oldest of two children and welcomed her younger brother Rick to the family two years after she was born. Betsy had a very happy childhood, growing up in the same neighborhood with many cousins and her best friend Debbie. They enjoyed walking to the shopping center, going to movies, having sleepovers, and getting a cherry coke at the local drug store soda fountain. They also loved going to the beach and collecting starfish and shells.
Betsy loved to reminisce about spending weekends with her grandparents, both Forsberg and Wilson, for Sunday dinner. After her cousins Cathie and Diane moved to Tonopah, Nevada, Betsy loved to spend time in the summers there with them. She had many friends in Tonopah and claimed that town as her second home. Betsy would later live there when her parents also moved to Tonopah. Tonopah, and the family and friends she has there to this day, were always very special to her.
Betsy was working at Nye Regional Hospital in Tonopah when she met her husband, Jeff. He could not resist her blue scrubs and white lab coat so they became fast friends and later began dating. Before long Jeff and Betsy were married in Tonopah and they moved with their son Travis to Newton, UT to begin their life together. Their family was later sealed in the Logan Temple. She worked in the medical field her entire career as a nursing aid, OB tech, EMT, Lab Tech, and LPN. Her career was spent at Nye Regional, Budge Clinic in Logan, and Terrace Grove Assisted Living in Logan. She was a wonderful nurse, following the example of her mom, Grace, who was the Director of Nursing at Nye Regional. Betsy had a special love for the little ones she helped welcome to the world as an OB Tech and for the senior patients she had at Terrace Grove.
Betsy, Jeff and the boys moved around a lot between Newton UT, Tonopah NV, Bountiful UT, West Valley UT, Las Vegas NV, and finally Nibley. Betsy took a couple breaks from working as a nurse during those travels and was extremely supportive of her husband's nomadic life chasing construction work. Both of them were relieved when Jeff found more stable work in the construction world as an estimator at the Nevada Test Range. Betsy was especially happy because it meant living in Tonopah again. By this time the family had grown to include another son Brian, in addition to Travis. Dane soon came along after the final move to Tonopah to make the family complete. No matter where or what their home was, Betsy, an avid crafter, always made it a warm and "cozy" place to be as she loved decorating her home with things that she crafted herself or found at the craft store.
All was well in Tonopah until Jeff was transferred to Las Vegas and the small family was uprooted again and reluctantly moved to Las Vegas. They had many great times in Las Vegas and Betsy decided to return to school there to work towards her LPN certification. After five years in Las Vegas, Jeff completed his education and they began to look for other career opportunities. When Jeff was hired by Big-D Construction as a Senior Estimator they moved to Nibley UT in 1997. Betsy resumed her schooling in Logan UT and became an LPN in August of 2000 and began a fulfilling career taking care of her elderly patients at Terrace Grove.
Betsy was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and held several positions teaching in Primary and Sunday School, as well as working in the scouting organization. Her favorite calling in the Church was when she was an Assistant Secretary in the Relief Society. She formed lifelong friendships with the Sisters she worked so closely with and loved them dearly.
Betsy had an extreme passion for watching sports, particularly USU athletic events. She and Jeff were season ticket holders for USU football and basketball games and loved to travel to away games whenever time and location would allow. They also made annual treks to watch the conference basketball tournaments that USU was involved in. One particular highlight was a trip to College Station, Texas to watch USU almost beat Texas A&M in a football game. Another was going to Las Vegas to watch the Aggies play UNLV in football during the day and then immediately going to T-Mobile Arena to watch a Vegas Golden Knights hockey game that night. Celebrating a UNLV national championship win over Duke was pretty sweet too. She was the team videographer for her son Dane's high school hockey team.
More active, rather than spectator, interests included mechanical bull riding (a one-time thing), camping with friends and family, trail rides in the side by side, and floating around the lakes on a pontoon boat wherever vacation travels took her. She even went on three river raft trips on the Gallatin and Salmon Rivers. She loved to travel to national parks, especially Yellowstone, and spending summers camping at Beaver Mountain and Island Park, ID. Her favorite thing to do was camping, side by side riding, and spending time with friends and family.
Betsy had a great sense of humor and loved to make people smile and laugh. Many a the time she would get the group laughing as we sat around a camp fire telling stories. Even in her last days, she could muster up a quip that would make the Nurses and Aides smile or laugh when they came to take care of her. Although her disease process sometimes resulted in some unexpected and difficult behavior, it was very rare for her to bemoan her circumstances as she battled dementia and gradually lost more and more of herself to such a horrible disease. Rather than get angry and mean about it, she seemed to grow more patient, calmer, and sweeter as her health declined.
Betsy is survived by her husband Jeff; son Travis and his wife Janet; son Dane; grandchildren Breanna, Matthew, and Justus; brother Rick; many amazing nieces, nephews, and cousins as well as and grand-doggers Kenobi and Luna. She was predeceased by her parents, grandparents, and son Brian.
A memorial service celebrating the life of Betsy will be held on Friday, September 29, 2023 at noon in the Nibley Utah Stake Center at 3701 South 450 West in Nibley. Betsy did not want a viewing but there will be a visitation hour with the family prior to the service. After the service there will be a luncheon and time for visitation, as well. Interment will be at the Newton Utah Cemetery at a later date. Cache Valley Mortuary is handling Betsy's final wishes.
The family would like to give special notice and thanks to the wonderful staff of Sunshine Cares and Sunshine Home Health and Hospice for the kindness, care, and education they have provided on Betsy's behalf for the past nine months. They have truly been angels to her and the family and we could not have made this journey without their help. Thanks go out to all the friends and family that have supported us at this time. Your support has meant so much more than words can adequately express.
Betsy, you will always be in our hearts and we will never forget the many good times, kindness, laughs, and care we have shared with you. Until we meet again, enjoy the peace and rest of your reunion with loved ones on the other side of the veil. We love you and miss you more than we thought possible.