Obituary of Elizabeth L. Dablow

Elizabeth "Betsy" Lynne Dablow, age 91 of Cambridge, passed away peacefully at her home on Friday, October 14, 2016. Betsy Dablow was born in Fairmont, Minnesota on August 26, 1925 to Calvin Henry Gould and Harriet Phillips Gould. She graduated from Fairmont High School, and then attended the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Campus. She was a member of the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority, and a member of Mortar Board. At the University of Minnesota, Betsy worked under her mentor, Dean Williamson, and came up with the idea, and wrote her thesis on the first freshman orientation week model in the US. She loved her work at Eddy Hall in the Student Activities Bureau, with the added bonus of training in John Dablow, a young lawyer who came to work at the Bureau. John and Betsy married on September 3rd, 1949 at the First Congregational Church in Fairmont, Minnesota. John and Betsy Dablow came to the Cambridge area just after completing their degrees at the University of Minnesota in 1949, John with a Juris Doctorate and Betsy with a Master's in Educational Psychology. John started his law career the same year they arrived in Cambridge with the man our family affectionately calls “Uncle Bob” - Robert Gillespie. When Jay, their first born, came in to the world on August 4, 1951 in Princeton, Minnesota (the Cambridge Hospital did not exist...yet) – that very same day, Uncle Bob delivered naval papers to my Dad calling him back to service in the Navy JAG Corps to be stationed in Naples, Italy. Having only been in practice a year with Bob Gillespie, the Dablow's put their belongings in storage, and headed to Naples, Italy for the next 2 years. Thomas Richard Dablow was born in Naples, Italy on February 15, 1953. When Betsy was at the University, she was employed by the Minnesota Girl Scout Council, and brought her passion for the Girl Scout's to Italy. She started the first Girl Scout troop in Naples during their stay. When she returned to Cambridge, she continued as a girl scout troop leader for many years. Betsy was an avid golfer, and won numerous club championships throughout the 50's, 60's and early 70's – many at the first Cambridge Country Club, now known as the Grandy 9. (*an earlier version of this obituary contained a partially accurate statistic – Doug '57 and Lynne '59) In 1969, she opened The Village Greene – Frocks and Sportive Attire on main street in Cambridge, and for the next 10 years it thrived as a unique women's apparel store and gift shop. John and Betsy Dablow retired to Green Valley, Arizona in the mid 1980's when John took a medical retirement from the 10th Judicial District Court. They enjoyed many years together in Green Valley where John passed away in January, 1996. During those years, Betsy became an accomplished sculptor with many of her pieces exhibited locally. She was an active docent at the Tucson Museum of Modern Art, and spent many weeks during the school year offering lectures on art to grade school students throughout the Tucson area. John and Betsy were part of a small group interested in starting a new protestant church in Cambridge. The Cambridge Methodist Church – (later the First United Methodist Church, and currently Common Ground United Methodist Community) - held its first church service in Cambridge in . Elizabeth Dablow was a lifelong member of the Masonic Order of the Eastern Star (Cambridge and Green Valley, Arizona Chapters), and served as its Grand Ester for the State of Minnesota in1963. She was also a member of the Legion Auxiliary (Cambridge and Green Valley, Arizona.) With their local group of cohorts, they loved their years in The Turtles. Betsy is proceeded in death by her beloved husband, John, who spent 22 years as Isanti County Attorney; concurrently, 14 years as Deputy Attorney to the Minnesota Railroad Association under Gordon Forbes. In 1976, he was appointed to the 10th Judicial District Court by Governor Wendell Anderson retiring in 1986. Betsy is survived by her sister, Helen (Marnie) Thompson (Jim), Green Valley, Arizona; her son John F. III - Jay - (Kim), Huntington Beach, California, granddaughter Lindsay (Matt), great grandchildren, Cory and Garrett, grandson, Jason (Leysa); son Tom (Julie), Salem, Oregon, granddaughter, Amy (Dennis), great-granddaughter, Kayleigh, granddaugther, Jennifer (Beau), grandson, Zachary (Melissa), great-grandchildren, Dylan, Avery, and Isaac; son Doug (Kim), Cambridge, Minnesota; and her daughter, Lynne, Avon, Minnesota. Betsy and John's extended family meant the world to them, and they are survived by a most devoted group of nieces and nephews. Also, proceeded in death by brothers, Calvin – Cal - (Lucy) Gould, Charles – Chuck - (Ginny) Gould, and nephew Calvin (Cal) H. Gould III (Peggy); close friends, Dottie Christianson, Aldrich and Betty Jones, Jane Hedlin, and Lois Thompson. Memorials – in lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to your chosen charity. Betsy's favorite is: Shriner's Hospitals for Children 2025 East River Pkwy.
Minneapolis, MN 55414 Internment at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Private service. A celebration of life will be announced in the future.