Elizabeth 'Betty' Helberg, 84

Elizabeth “Betty” Buzzas Helberg left us peacefully on March 14, 2019, at the age of 84.

Born and raised in Helena, she was predeceased by her parents, Margaret and Charles Buzzas, and two brothers, Charles and George, all longtime residents of Montana.

Betty graduated from Helena High School, Class of 1952. In May of 1956 Betty graduated from the Sisters of Charity Nursing Program at Carroll College in Helena and worked as a registered nurse in her early years. She married Donald Murphy from Butte in 1959 and raised two daughters in Spokane, Margaret and Elizabeth. She attended graduate school at Whitworth College, earning a master’s degree in education in 1977 and enjoyed working at the Good Shepherd Home for teenagers in Spokane.

Betty devoted herself to raising her daughters, ensuring they appreciated the value of education and travel. Both daughters received a quality, Catholic education, graduating from Gonzaga Prep in Spokane, and with honors from Catholic universities in California. In the later 1980s, Betty moved to Carmel, California, and worked as a discharge planner at Carmel Hospital, and later as the director at a Senior Care facility in Carmel.

Betty lived for a number of years in Massachusetts but happily reunited later in life with her high school sweetheart, Gene Helberg, from Helena. They married on Feb.19, 2005, and settled in Bigfork. She is survived by her loving husband Gene, and two daughters, Margaret Mottolo of North Andover, Massachusetts, and Elizabeth Murphy of Nashville, Tennessee. She is also survived by four adult grandchildren, Katherine, Alexis, Maggie Mottolo and Garon Morris.