Elizabeth (Betty) Therese

Wendlowsky

Elizabeth Therese (Natkowski) Wendlowsky, known to everyone as Betty, reunited with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and her loving husband, Paul, on November 7, 2026. Betty was born at home in Detroit on October 7, 1929, to Rose and Anthony Natkowski. Betty and her twin sister, Barbara, were Rose and Anthony’s third and fourth children. Barbara would pass away at about three weeks old.

Betty grew up in the 1930’s and 40’s in a faith-filled home on the west side of Detroit. Her many memories range from survival during the Great Depression and delivering groceries to her grandmother who spoke only Polish stayed with her throughout her long and fruitful life. She graduated from St. Casmir High School in 1947 and maintained contact with her surviving classmates well into her 90’s.

After high school and World War II ended, Betty began dating Paul Frank Wendlowsky Jr, a veteran of WWII from a nearby neighborhood. Paul and Betty would later marry on October 16th, 1948, and then move to the new community of Dearborn in 1949. It was there in Dearborn that Betty and Paul would raise their seven kids through all the wonders and changes of the 1950’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Around the time her youngest child was born, Betty began a 20+ year career at Sears, where she worked at both the Lincoln Park and the Fairlane Town Center stores. Well after her retirement in the mid 1990’s, she maintained close relationships with some of her co-workers.

After Paul passed away in 1984, Betty continued to live in the family home until the early 2000’s when she moved into Morley Manor. She continued to live independently at Morley Manor and became part of the fabric of that community until 2023. When she could no longer live independently at the age of 93, Betty moved in with her daughter and son-in-law, Maureen and Patrick, in North Muskegon and lived there for about a year before finishing her life near White Cloud with her son and daughter-in-law, Gary and Cindy.

Betty was always genuinely glad to see you and talk to you. She built community through her genuine love for everyone. She had life-long friends from St. Martha’s parish in Dearborn. She was loved and adored by her Morley Manor neighbors. She built strong bonds with prayer groups in just the one year she was in North Muskegon. And she deeply loved her parish family at St. Joseph’s in White Cloud and the neighbor Nellies and their kids the last two and a half years of her life. If you came into her orbit, you were captured by her gravitational pull of Love.

Betty’s life was defined by her strong faith in Christ and her love for everyone. Some called her Mom. Many more called her Grandma or Grandma Betty or even Grandma Great. While even more called her friend. She cared deeply and loved everyone she met, and you could feel it. She had an incredible memory and would often remind you of things that you forgot about yourself. She built decades long lasting relationships, and at the same time, if she met you once she continued to ask about you. She was a prayer warrior and prayed for and wanted the best for every single person she knew. Her love of you and her love and faith in Jesus was baked into every conversation she had. This world is so much better for the life she lived, and she will be remembered and dearly missed by all. Her impact is truly beyond words.

Betty is survived by six of her seven kids, Michael Wendlowsky (Arlene), Nancy Wendlowsky-Lloyd (David Lloyd), Daniel Wendlowsky (Linda), Maureen Muenstermann (Patrick), Karen Hatch (Albert), and Gary Wendlowsky (Cynthia). She also leaves behind 28 grandchildren, 27 great grandchildren, two great-great grandchildren, countless friends and many nieces and nephews who will miss her daily.

She was preceded in death by the love of her life and husband, Paul Wendlowsky, her beloved daughter Sharon Gardner, beloved son-in-law Richard Gardner as well as her parents Rose and Anthony Natkowski and all three of her siblings and their spouses and many nieces and nephews.

A Visitation will be held on Thursday, November 12 from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. at Crandell Funeral Home - White Cloud Chapel with a Rosary at 7:00 P.M. Funeral Mass will be held on Friday, November 13 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in White Cloud at 11:00 A.M. with a visitation one hour prior. A Graveside Service will be held on Monday, November 16 at 1:00 at St. Hedwig Cemetery in Dearborn Heights, Michigan. The family would like to extend a sincere thank you to Heartland Hospice for all of their hard work and amazing care they gave Betty in her final days. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Heartland Hospice or St. Joseph Catholic Church.