Betty Kobilka Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Betty Kobilka, 91, formerly of Little Falls, passed away on July 2 at Sholom Home West in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Born November 14, 1930 in Killdeer, North Dakota, to Engelbert and Elfie (nee Lundquist) Faust, Betty moved to Pierz, Minnesota to be cared for by her grandparents Marie and Andrew Faust after her mother died when she was young. She and her brother Dayrle moved to Los Angeles after her father remarried. Betty had three half-siblings Yvonne, Tom, and Vicki. Her nickname was “Tiny”. Betty moved back to Pierz in the late 1940s and attended St. Francis High School in Little Falls. After graduating in 1948, Betty worked for Helen Beyer at the Style Shop in Pierz. She then moved to Little Falls where she worked at another women’s clothing store, owned by Helen’s sister, called Loretta’s. Betty met her husband Frank at a dance in Little Falls. Frank gave Betty and a friend a ride home but Betty left her scarf in the car. Returning the scarf led to their first date and they got married soon after in 1951. Whether she left the scarf in the car on purpose we’ll never know. They were married over 50 years until Frank passed away in 2004. They had two children, Pam and Brian. Betty and Frank became lifelong members of St. Mary’s Church in Little Falls. Betty began working with Frank at the Sanitary Bakery in 1968 after attending the Wilton School of Cake Decorating in Chicago. She decorated cakes, cookies, and holiday treats. She was an artistic cake decorator and especially enjoyed creating theme cakes for special events. They were all done to perfection. Betty was a great cook and loved to bake for her family too. Her specialties were Boston Cream Pie and Ice Water Chocolate Cake. Betty had many other interests too. She learned to play bridge shortly after getting married and joined a bridge club where she made many lifelong friends. She and Frank enjoyed spending summers at their cabin on Lake Alexander which had been in the Kobilka family for many years. Betty loved gardening and bird watching. She and Frank traveled to Palm Springs for more than 40 years where they vacationed with their close friends Loretta and Louie LaFond. After Frank retired in 1985, they spent full winters at their vacation home in Palm Desert where they regularly hosted family and friends and could often be found on the golf course. Betty also delighted in being a doting grandmother. Betty will be remembered for many things including her sense of fashion, immaculate housekeeping, beehive hairdo, common sense, and kindness. Betty is survived by her daughter Pam Elconin (Bob) of Minnetonka, MN; her son Brian Kobilka (Tong Sun) of Palo Alto, CA; her four grandchildren Jason, Megan, Abby and Jon; two great-grandchildren Leila and Max Anthony; and her half-sisters Yvonne Samuel of Los Angeles and Vicki Brown of San Rafael, CA. Betty is preceded in death by her husband Frank, brother Dayrle Faust, and half-brother Tom Faust. The family expresses its appreciation to several people who were very kind to Betty in her later years including Mary Schneider, Jane McNeill, Linda Bayliss, and the stylists at Studio 13 in Minnetonka who took good care of Betty and always kept her hair looking beautiful. The family also wants to recognize the warm care provided to Betty at Summit Place in Eden Prairie and Sholom Home West in Saint Louis Park. A funeral mass will be held at Holy Family Catholic Church, Belle Prairie, MN, on Tuesday, August 9th at 1 o’clock. All are welcome to join the family for a gathering immediately following the service. Burial will be held in St. Mary’s Cemetery Little Falls. Memorial donations may be made to Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls (fslf.org) or Sholom Home (giving.sholom.com). Funeral arrangements through Shelley Funeral Chapel.

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Betty Kobilka

November 14, 1930 - July 2, 2022