Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11:00 AM, Saturday, January 2, 2021 at Saint Mary of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Long Prairie for Betty Rachey, 93 of Long Prairie who passed away on December 15, 2020 at Valley View Manor Assisted Living in Long Prairie. Visitation will be one hour prior to services at the church on Saturday. Father Omar Guanchez will officiate and burial will be at St. Mary’s Cemetery. The service can be observed remotely by logging on to the St. Mary’s of Long Prairie Facebook page.
There will be a “Celebration of Life” for Betty. It is tentatively planned for the summer of 2021. Family and friends will be able to gather together and share their memories.
Betty was born on July 1, 1927 to Thomas and Hattie (Kulik) Buhl in Hartford Towship. She graduated from Browerville High School and went on get her Teaching Certificate at what was commonly called Normal School in Staples, MN. She then began her career as a country school teacher. On September 3, 1947 she married Robert P. Rachey in Browerville. When starting their family in 1951 Betty quit teaching and began the role and career of being a homemaker and bookkeeper for Bob’s employment with MN Valley Breeders Association. In 1972 Betty started her career which would last over 30 years with the Long Prairie Dental Clinic. First as a dental assistant then on to being the face of the Long Prairie Dental Clinic as the receptionist where she was sure to know you by name and face and be interested in your family details.
Betty’s Catholic faith was very important to her and she was active as a member of the Christian Mother’s, volunteer server for the school lunch program and in the funeral choir at Saint Mary of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Long Prairie.
Betty was a very energetic and busy person with many interests. A game of chance or a card game with grandchildren, friends or relatives was a daily activity for her. Many Buhl family gatherings began with the poker chips and deck of cards coming out along with tales of hard and good times of childhood on the farm. Betty being the second oldest child with ten brothers was tasked with helping with “the boys” while her mother kept up with the daily activities of keeping a large family fed. Betty was also a talented seamstress, sewing clothing and doll clothes and in later years settled into crocheting as her master craft. Whether you knew Betty as a family member, friend or possibly just crossed her path as an acquaintance it is quite possible that in your home currently, a doily dons a table or shelf, a set of placemats are neatly stacked in the linen closest or a still hard at work dish cloth sits in your kitchen towel drawer.
Betty enjoyed travel and she and Bob took many trips in and out of the country. She traveled to Hawaii twice with girlfriends as a tag-a-long with the MN Marching Ambassadors. Her favorite traveling though was to visit her family. Bob and Betty and then Betty when she was able made yearly trips to visit her out of state son Paul and grandchildren Ross and Mason in the state of Washington, her daughter Julie while residing in California and her brothers as they retired to the state of Florida.
She is survived by her son Paul (Venka) of Chelan, WA; daughters, Debra (Russell) Goerger of Avon, Julie (Brian) Laverdiere of Foley and Amy (Mykel) Zimmerman of Long Prairie; sister Phyllis Kern of Alexandria; brothers, Jim (Bobby) Buhl of Ham Lake, Dennis (Ruth) Buhl of Maple Grove, Steve (Aneta) Buhl of McQueeny, TX; eight grandchildren and 5 greatgrandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband Robert; parents; and brothers Jerome, Floyd, Hillary, Richard, Joseph, Mark and Ken Buhl.
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