Obituary of Bette (Elizabeth) Sampson

Bette (Elizabeth) Sampson died peacefully on June 8, 2023 in Moose Lake, Minnesota. She was 87 years old.

Bette was born April 25, 1936 in Duluth, Minnesota to Frank and Edith Hiffernan. Bette married her childhood sweetheart, Glenn Sampson in 1957. While Glenn attended college and eventually the seminary, Bette and he lived in Duluth, where a son was born, Madison, Wisconsin where a daughter was born; St. Peter, Minnesota; Moline, Illinois where their second son was born, and Richfield, Minnesota, where their second daughter was born. Eventually moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota, Glenn and Bette divorced in 1973, although they remained the best of friends, and held a great love for one another all of their lives.

Bette continued raising her four children on her own, and worked in the healthcare industry most of her life. The majority of that was spent working for Minneapolis Children’s Hospital as a secretary and medical transcriptionist. She was beloved by everyone she worked with, wherever that was.

Bette loved to cook and bake, sew, quilt, embroider, cross stitch, and make her own greeting cards. She was an avid reader, puzzler and Scrabble player, but her greatest love was watching her Minnesota Twins Baseball Team. She never missed a game, whether on radio or television, and when she retired, she was gifted a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Florida to attend the Twins’ Spring Training Camp. Definitely one of the greatest highlights of her life!

Bette was preceded in death by her father Frank Hiffernan, mother Edith Hiffernan; brother Frank (Florene) Hiffernan, Jr., and sister Mary (Jim) Walker. She is survived by her children, Steve Sampson, Wendy (Jim) Loria, Michael (Barb) Sampson, Heidi (Chuck) Moon; sisters Fran Larson, Ruth Walker, and Jean Kennedy; 9 grandchildren, and 7 great-grandchildren.

Arrangements by the Cremation Society of Minnesota, Duluth, MN.

A graveside service is planned for Bette this fall at Oneota Cemetery in Duluth, MN.