Elizabeth “Betti” Joan Huddleston, 88, passed away peacefully on November 3, 2026, in Burnsville, Minnesota.

Betti was born on March 24, 1938, in Petoskey, Michigan, and was the oldest child of William and Alice Miller. The family moved to Hartford, Michigan, when she was two years old. Throughout her life she held a variety of jobs from bank teller to census taker, and to teacher and pre-school business owner. As a young girl, she was a worm counter for a local farmer and a newspaper subscription salesgirl. She was so successful at selling newspaper subscriptions that she earned a Schwin bicycle, which she rode her entire life, including around their home at Lake Michigan with her husband, Dean.

Betti married the love of her life, Von Dean Huddleston, in September of 1957. They were high school sweethearts who built their family together in Hartford. They had four children, Stephen Dean, Michael John, Barbara Jean, and Phillip William. They were married 67½ years before Dean passed away in 2025.

While being a volunteer Cub Scout den leader for her sons, Betti discovered she enjoyed helping children learn. She went to college at Lake Michigan College and Western Michigan University, graduating in 1972 with a Bachelor of Education degree and earning a teaching certificate.

Betti worked as a teacher at Bangor Public Schools and St. Mary’s Catholic School in Paw Paw. In 1975, Betti and Dean purchased a portable classroom and opened the Preschool Learning Center in Hartford. In 1981, they expanded to a second location to Coloma, where Betti served as the program director for both schools.

Betti was a wonderful cook, an avid reader, and a lifelong learner who approached life with fierce independence. She volunteered at the local food kitchen, supported all of her children’s activities as a parent volunteer, and readily shared advice and knowledge with family and friends.

Throughout her life, Betti loved to travel with Dean. They not only visited all 50 U.S. states, but they also saw a great deal of the world. In the winter months, they enjoyed time in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for many years.

After their oldest son Stephen died in 1985, Betti and Dean found a place on Lake Michigan to heal. They bought and restored a home on Lions Park Drive, which eventually was painted pink and green and became an iconic landmark that was enjoyed by family, friends, and people going down to the beach from the 2nd Street beach access. They lived there for 30 years, enjoying many bike rides throughout St. Joe, sunsets from the front porch, making friends in the neighborhood, and the hustle and bustle of lake life. They moved to CareTel in the summer of 2023. After Dean passed away in 2025, Betti moved to Minnesota to live at Arbor Lane to be near family.

Betti will be dearly missed by her family and friends. She is survived by her son, Michael (Nancy), daughter, Barbara, and son Phillip; 8 grandchildren, Michael Jr. (Samantha), Andrew (Stephanie), Tommy, Allen, Christopher (Katie) Jenkins, and Stacia (Tyler) Davidson, Jessica Kast (Jessy Defenderfer), and Grant Huddleston; plus 6 great-grandchildren, Dean, Lenore, Bennett, and Cecelia Huddleston and Noelle and Heath Huddleston. Other survivors include sisters, Carole Mayer and Joyce Empson and brother Hershel (Betty) Miller; sister-in-law Maxine (Eugene) Gatchell and brother-in-law Gary (Sandy) Huddleston; special friends Ed and KeVen Riley, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, William and Alice Miller, husband, Von Dean, son Stephen, and sisters-in-law Joann Kriner and Eleanor Rupert.

Betti’s Celebration of Life will take place at a later date in Michigan. Cremation has taken place and Betti requested that her ashes be combined with Dean’s upon her death and spread in Hartford and St. Joseph, two places that she held dear in her heart.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial donations can be made to your local food shelf.