Betty E. (Davis) Tanis

Betty Esther Tanis went home to be with the Lord on June 23, 2025 in Glenwood, MN. She was 87 years of age. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, July 11, 2025 at the First Baptist Church in Glenwood. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will be in the Lake Amelia Cemetery in Villard. Memorials are preferred to the First Baptist Church.

Betty was born on July 10th 1937, in South Sioux City, Nebraska to Howard and Dorothy Boland.  She was raised by her maternal grandparents, Grant and Elizabeth Davis, and grew up using their surname. 

Betty graduated as valedictorian from South Sioux City High School (1955), and went on to graduate with honors from Saint Vincent’s Hospital School of Nursing in Sioux City, IA; Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL; and Nyack College in Nyack, NY.

In 1962, she was united in marriage to Peter Gregson Tanis in Sioux City, IA.  They enjoyed a very happy marriage until Aug 13, 2000 when Pete went to be with the Lord.  

Betty worked as a nurse in Nyack, NY; Chicago, IL; Albuquerque, NM; Sioux City, IA; Dennison, IA; Watertown, SD; Algona, IA; and Fort Dodge, IA. She and Pete moved to Glenwood, MN in 1977 where she worked in the family aviation business. 

For most of her 87 years, Betty played piano at the churches she attended. She arranged music, planned programs, and accompanied both congregational singing and soloists and groups as they shared their music with the church family. She was a very gifted, self-taught musician, and her music had a strong impact on many people.

Betty loved her Savior, her family, music, studying and teaching God’s word, poetry, spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, her church family, and vegetable gardening. She read the Bible through every year for more than 20 years. She was happy, kind, generous, and faithful. She was a prayer warrior, and a confidante, especially to her grandkids, and they loved her sense of humor. Betty loved others, and took interest in them. Her main hope in life was to bring praise to her Lord and Savior.

Betty is survived by her daughters Brenda (Bruce) Stichter of Warsaw, IN, Lisa (Matt) Trumble of Alexandria, MN,  and son Bruce (Luanne) Tanis of Bulverde, TX; her brother Dr. Jerry R. (Nancy) Davis of VA, sister-in-law Sandy Wilder of Davenport, IA; 13 grandchildren: Jake (Valerie) Stichter, Brittany Stichter, Melyssa Trumble, Mitchell (Natasha) Trumble, Andrew (Melissa) Trumble, Anna Trumble, Amanda Trumble, Molly Trumble, Martin Trumble, Adrian Trumble, Michael Trumble, Graydon Tanis and Cody (Nhu) Tanis, and 10 great-grandchildren: Tessa, Erica, Brady, Adelaide, Elliot, Caden, Kaiya, Su, Liam and Desmond, and multiple cousins, nephews and nieces.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Peter, her brother Michael Wilder, her sisters Jeannie Albeck, Nikki Magnetti and Vikki Von Minden, sister-in-law, Barbara Snyder, and brother-in-law, Steve Snyder.

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