Betty Mae (Ryan) Hinrichs died peacefully at home on Jan. 17, 2025, having reached the age of 93. She was born on Feb. 10, 1931, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the third of eight children born to Leonard and Opal (Johnson) Ryan. The family moved to Little Wood Lake, Wisconsin, when Betty was 12 where she attended Wood Lake School – the only girl in her eighth-grade class. After graduating from Grantsburg High School in 1948, she immediately headed back to Minneapolis and started work in the Administration Office at the University of Minnesota, where she stayed until she met her future husband at the roller skating rink in West Sweden, Wisconsin.
On April 15, 1950, Betty was married to Raymond “Buster” Hinrichs and they were happily married for just shy of 70 years. To this union three children were born, Daniel, Thomas and Mary Lynn. They lived and raised their children on the family farm in Grantsburg, Wisconsin. Betty worked alongside Buster on the farm, milking cows, baling and raking hay, and tending a huge garden.
Betty was an avid reader and after working at the Grantsburg Credit Union and retiring from First Wisconsin Bank of Grantsburg, she worked at the Grantsburg Public Library until she was 80 and loved every minute of it.
She loved to travel and visited many areas of the United States and Europe. Betty was a Wisconsin sports fan traveling twice to Pasadena to the Rose Bowl, many trips to Milwaukee for baseball games and attended numerous games at Lambeau Field alongside her husband.
Betty was a trusted confidant and always willing to help anyone in need.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Raymond in 2019; her parents, Leonard and Opal Ryan; brothers, James and Charles Ryan; sisters, Ann Clark and Mary Hinks; daughter-in-law, Tina Hinrichs and baby grandson.
She is survived by son, Daniel Hinrichs and wife Kim, son, Thomas Hinrichs, and daughter, Mary Hinrichs, all of Grantsburg; four grandchildren, Daniel (Heather) Hinrichs II, Rachael (Adam) Praught, James (Krystal) Hinrichs and Brian (Holly) Hinrichs; great-grandchildren, Landon, Declan, Adison, Nolan, Ivy, Alaina, Emmett, Emmalynn, Peyton, Liam, Sheldon, Donevan and Mya; sisters, Karen Klinkhammer, Ethel Deiss and Lenore Ramsdell; brother-in-law, Tony Deiss; many dear nieces and nephews; and her ever faithful protector, Daisy.
Visitation will be held at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 411 State Road 70, Grantsburg, Wisconsin, on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, from 9 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. with a Memorial Mass to follow at 11 a.m. with Father Thomas Sagili presiding.
Interment at Riverside Cemetery in Grantsburg will be at a later date.
Blessed be her memory.
You are invited to leave condolences, memories, and photos at rowefh.com. Arrangements are entrusted to the Rowe Funeral Home in Frederic, Wisconsin, 715-327-4475, and the Northwest Wisconsin Cremation Center in Milltown, Wisconsin.
