Mass of Christian Burial will be 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 28, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Sauk Rapids for Elizabeth “Betty” L. Turck, age 87, of Sauk Rapids who died April 14, 2026, at the St. Cloud Hospital. The Rev. Thomas Knoblach will officiate. Visitation will be 4-7 p.m. Monday, April 27, at Williams Dingmann Family Funeral Home in Sauk Rapids and one hour prior to the services Tuesday at the church in Sauk Rapids. On April 14, the Lord called his angel, Elizabeth (Betty) Turck home.
Elizabeth Louise Smith was born July 14,1938. She grew up on a farm in Holdingford and, in 1955, graduated from Holdingford High School. At an early age, Betty knew she wanted to be a nurse. She graduated from the St. Cloud School of Nursing in August 1958. Five years later in 1963, Betty married William (Bill) Turck, and they had four children together but later divorced. Betty spent the majority of her 40-year nursing career working at the St. Cloud Hospital in the emergency trauma unit. She was the director of the emergency and outpatient services from 1975-1984 after which she transitioned back to being a bedside nurse. That was where her passion was and where she felt she could make the biggest impact. Throughout her career, Betty was involved in many professional groups. She served on the Emergency Nurses Association, the Emergency Medical Services Council for Stearns County, and the EMS Council for the 14-County Central MN Region. Betty was on the Governor’s Task Force on Child Abuse and trained health care professionals across the state on signs of abuse and reporting procedures. Betty was part of the core group that launched the Stearns-Benton Child Abuse Task Force, the Sexual Assault Center and Rape Crisis Center in St Cloud. She worked closely with the Woman House which was the St. Cloud shelter for battered women prior to it becoming the now known AnnaMarie’s Alliance. Betty was instrumental in organizing the 911 Call System for 14 counties across Minnesota and implementing the Medical Alert Services at the St. Cloud Hospital. She has been honored with many awards for the compassion and hard work she put into the community. Betty loved spending time with family and friends. After her retirement from the St. Cloud Hospital, Betty focused on her grandchildren and cared for many of them after school. She enjoyed playing games, doing crafts or watching her grandkids in their many activities. Her love of cooking brought her family together for many gatherings and Sunday dinners. During the holidays, she would enjoy coloring dozens of Easters eggs and baking/frosting hundreds of cookies with her family for Christmas. Betty is a member of Sacred Heart Parish in Sauk Rapids and was active with St Monica’s Christian Women. She taught religious education classes and Bible studies as well as being the parish nurse for many years. Betty accredits all her life’s accomplishments because of her strong faith in God and family.
Betty is survived by her sons, Mike (Tammy) Turck of NE Minneapolis, Brian Turck of St Cloud and Dan (Brenda) Turck of Sauk Rapids; daughter Anne (Sean) Peacock of Sauk Rapids; grandchildren, Andrew Turck and Nick Turck of NE Minneapolis, Kyle (Angie) Turck of St. Stephen, Ethan Turck of St. Cloud, Jake Turck of St. Cloud, Dalton (Samantha) Turck of Aitkin, Darin (Abby) Turck of Zimmerman, Dylan (Lindsey) Turck of Ashland, Wisconsin, Derek Turck of Annandale, Ashley (Austin) Black of Sauk Rapids, Chris (Michelle) Jarve of Sauk Rapids, Dustin (Lindsay) Jarve of Sauk Rapids, Blake Jarve of Gibbon, Kaila Turck of Sauk Rapids, Stephaine Peacock of Sauk Rapids and Rayne Peacock of Sartell. She also leaves behind 18 great-grandchildren; her brother, Ron (Kit) Smith of St. Joseph; and her partner of 30 years, Tim Terres.
Betty was preceded in death by her sister, Donna Paggen; brother-in-law, David Paggen; brother Robert (Bob) Smith; and grandson, Jeremiah Pierson.
Obituary, guest book and video tribute available online at www.williamsdingmann.com.
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