Elizabth Ann Kissee

Elizabeth Ann Kissee (Richter)… Born April 3, 1939 I Seat Pleasant, Maryland. Her parents were Victor and Estella Richter. She had an older brother , John; While in Maryland she gained a little sister, Vicki and a little brother Mike.

In 1946 her family moved to Miami, Florida. Her father bought three acres at the edge of the everglades. He was a brick builder, and knew everything about construction.. He built a beautiful home there. At this new home another sister was born, Lucy.

Life in the everglades was not for the faint of heart. To survive there you had to be strong. The Richter family became tough and did well.

Then something special happened., a wealthy Countess from Hungary moved within walking distance from the Richter home. They bought many acres and started an orange grove.
She built an impressive home, designed for entertaining and moved in with her two daughters, Jean (Ms. J) and Dorothy (Ms. B). The home was used to entertain dignitaries and celebrities from Ms. B's show biz friends. She was married to a popular band lead in New York in the 1920's and 1930's.

Ms. B and Ms. J took a liking to Betsy and became her second mothers. Betsy was always invited to their elaborate parties. She often sat on the piano bench with song writers like Ruby Bloom (Fools Rush In), and Oscar Levant. while he played and joked with guests.

Ms. J insisted on teaching Betsy all the proper etiquette of the upper scale society. Betsy became a very proper young lady with all the social graces.

She met Pete Kissee at work. It was love at first sight. He later confessed loved her before he knew her name. It was complicated because he was engaged to another girl. He broke off the engagement and they started dating. Their favorite date was to go to the beach after work and swim in the moonlight... very romantic.
They were married on May 5, 1962... Then came their first child, David, then Mary, then John. Their early years of marriage were normal with all the drama of child rearing, grade school, high school, and watching them grow into adulthood.

They retired in 1997 and moved to the mountains in Blairsville, Georgia... population 566. They built their new home there on two acres. Life was glorious. Betsy worked on her garden, Pete finished the basement. After two years, Betsy resumed her painting hobby...oil on canvas. She completed about thirty paintings. One of her works was displayed in the local bank.

They discovered traveling. They traveled all over the world. Mostly cruises. Those were the happiest years of their lives.

Unfortunately, Betsy suffered a stroke. She lost most of her vision. She started writing short stories about her life. She could no longer read, but she could write in long hand with pencil and paper. She wrote about sixty short stories.
Betsy's health worsened. Dementia was progressing. They sold their dream in Georgia and moved to their condo in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, close to their son, John and her sisters were nearby.

Betsy's vision got worse and her dementia progressed very rapidly. They moved to Grapevine, Texas where she could be in a facility near her daughter, Mary, and granddaughter, Katheryn.

Elizabeth passed away on May 5, 2022...her 60th wedding anniversary.

The family is holding a celebration of life for Elizabeth on May 28th, 2022 at 2:00pm at the Founder's Building located at 701 S. Main Street, Grapevine, Texas 76051.