Hilsheimer (Zizert), Betty Ann "GGB"
Betty was born to William Zizert and Helen (Graef) Zizert in Dayton, Ohio, on May 26, 1928. She passed away on June 6, 2025 in Omaha, Nebraska. This is her story.
Betty was a child of the Great Depression and WWII. Those were the defining events of her youth.
As a small child she lived with her parents and grandparents on Harvard Blvd. and attended Longfellow Elementary school.
Bill Zizert built his own home on Valleyview, and from this new home, where she grew up with sister Nancy, Betty attended E. J. Brown Elementary and Fairview High Schools.
Betty loved school and was an exceptional student. She developed a passion for lifelong learning.
After graduation in 1946, Betty attended nursing school at Christ Church Hospital in Cincinnati. Betty was a practicing registered nurse and worked in a variety of medical clinics for 40 years until retirement.
During her years at Fairview HS, she dated Howard Hilsheimer and they married in 1949. They had two children, Cathy Lynn and Scott William. Betty and Howard owned a cozy home on Hillcrest Avenue where they resided for 50 years. Their home was warm and welcoming for a long string of high school friends of Cathy and Scott.
Betty and Howard loved dogs, and the house was always home for one or two (and sometimes three) furry friends.
Betty also loved her sorority friends, bridge club, church, and lunches with the "Fairview Girls". Most importantly she loved taking care of her family.
She was a skilled artist, seamstress, antique-hunter and 'refurbisher', and braider of wool rugs. Some of which are still in service after 70 years.
In 2007, Betty and Howard moved from their stair-filled home on Hillcrest, to a condo in Englewood.
After Howard's passing in 2012, Betty remained in the condo until 2018 with the loving assistance of her cousin, David Larsen.
Betty moved to Omaha in 2018 where she lived with daughter, Cathy, and son-in-law, Vince Shay, until 2022.
Most recently Betty has been a resident of Marquis Place, an assisted living facility, in Elkhorn Nebraska. Betty is predeceased by parents Bill and Helen (Graef) Zizert, husband Howard, son Scott, brother-in-law Jack Magee and sister Nancy (Zizert) Magee.
Betty is survived by daughter, Cathy and Vince Shay; grandchildren, Sarah Gudeman, and Paul & Becky Shay, all of Omaha; great-grandchildren Benjamin and Allison Gudeman and Mila Shay in Omaha. Nephew Bill Magee of Norfolk, Virginia; niece Cam Magee of Washington, DC; cousin David Larsen of Englewood, Ohio; cousin John Larsen of Spanaway, WA.
Private inurnment at a later date.
Memorial donations to St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 925 S 84th Street, Omaha, NE. 68114.