Elizabeth Mae Houck Westerdahl (Aug 25, 1908 -  Jan 31, 2010)

Bruce and Carl’s Mother

Elizabeth Houck was three years old in 1911 when her Mother, who was only twenty-seven at the time, passed away. Standing at the graveside with her sister, Marg and her brother, Bud was one of her earliest memories. 

A short time later, the children had a new stepmother, Effie, and at first, their  relationship was not warm and fuzzy. Effie was a stern disciplinarian who often made the children get up as early as 4:00 a.m. to do their chores before school. It wasn’t until Elizabeth graduated from high school that she bonded with her stepmother.

Carl Westerdahl and Elizabeth were married in 1930, and she and the man she called Arnold were married for sixty-four years. After he died in 1995, Elizabeth lived alone for the next fifteen years involved in her life-long hobby, reading, including the Bible which she read from cover to cover . . . twice.

Throughout her life, Elizabeth was fastidious about her personal appearance and anxious about the image projected by her family. When in public, she was  well groomed and well dressed, and she expected as much of her family.  

Elizabeth was a good cook, who particularly enjoyed large family dinners where the results of her expertise in the kitchen were admired and enjoyed. 

One of the secrets of her culinary skills was a generous amount of butter and cream in many of her dishes, but despite those risks to good health in her own diet, she lived to be 101 aided by good genes in those who preceded her.

Elizabeth Houck Westerdahl had a stroke in January of 2010. For the next five days, she smiled and laughed with those who loved her most, then she died quietly in her sleep content that she had lived a long and satisfying life.