Elizabeth (Betty) J. Tucci, 85, passed away peacefully Saturday, January 22, 2011, at St. Peter\u2018s Hospital in Helena.<\/p>\n
A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, Betty was born to Edward and Dora (Jensen) McCall on March 21, 1925. Betty attended schools in St. Paul and graduated from George Washington High School in 1943. She graduated from St. Catherine\u2019s College School of Nursing in 1946. Betty worked in surgery and for various doctors before going west to practice nursing in Yellowstone National Park. Through a mutual friend, Betty met Thomas (Tom) Tucci from Livingston, Montana; they were married in 1951, and settled in Livingston. Betty worked for a local doctor part-time, while spending time with her two young children (Helen and Andy). Tom and Betty moved to Billings, Montana in 1955 where their next two children were born (Mary and Paul). Betty quit nursing to raise their family. During this time Betty took up the game of golf, was a 4-H leader, and enjoyed playing bridge.<\/p>\n
In 1967, Tom moved the family to Helena, Montana. Betty became an avid golfer, enjoying rounds with Tom, family members and friends. She was involved in club activities and tournaments at Bill Roberts and Green Meadow Golf Courses. After Tom retired, they traveled to Italy, and later Scotland, where they golfed at St. Andrew\u2019s. During several winters, Tom and Betty traveled to Florida, Arizona, and California seeking warm weather and green golf courses. During one stay in California, Betty scored two holes-in-one, a feat not matched by many.<\/p>\n
Betty enjoyed sewing and knitting. Many of her framed crewel work pictures hang in the homes of her children. Her handiwork includes Christmas stockings for all family members, and most recently for her two granddaughters-in-law. Betty was a voracious reader, reading two to three books a week, sharing her love of a good book with her children and grandchildren.<\/p>\n
Betty had a servant\u2019s heart. She volunteered her time at the Four Georgians Elementary School library, and for Hospice of St. Peter\u2019s Hospital, where she assisted for over 20 years.<\/p>\n
Betty was preceded in death by her parents, husband Tom, brothers Paul, John, and Edward, and sisters Agnes and Alicia. Betty will be greatly missed by her family: children Helen (Jack Nielson), Andy (Becky), Mary (Mark Bryson), and Paul (Niki); siblings Sister Sheila McCall and Leo McCall, and several nieces and nephews. Betty also has 13 grandchildren, all of whom she loved very much and all of whom cherished every moment with \u201cGrandma Betty\u201d: Luke, Drew, John and Marie Nielson of Anchorage, Alaska, Erik (Meagan) Nielson of Brooklyn, Wisconsin; Matthew (Sarah) Tucci of San Diego, California, Michael and Hannah Tucci of Austin, Texas; Grady and Sarah Bryson of Montana City, Montana; and Tom, Ryan, and Anna Tucci of Orinda, California.<\/p>\n
The family will receive friends from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. today, January 24th at Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home. Funeral Mass will be noon Tuesday, January 25th at Cathedral of Saint Helena. Interment will follow at Montana State Veterans Cemetery Ft. Harrison. A reception will then be held in the Brondel Center, located in the lower level of the Cathedral. Memorial contributions may be sent to the Thomas and Elizabeth Tucci Family Endowment at Carroll College, 1601 North Benton Avenue, Helena, Montana 59601. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting: www.aswfuneralhome.com.<\/p>\n","photo":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/307493_profile_pic.jpg","youtube_video_url":"","family_email":"","family_first_name":"","family_last_name":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case\/747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/case"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/case"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenafuneralhome.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}