Betty J . Niemi , 89, of Buffalo, South Dakota passed away at Monument Health Sp earfish Hospital on December 6, 2020 due to COVID-19. A p rivat e graveside service will be held at a later date . There will be a public visitation for Betty on Thurs day, Decembe r 1 0 , 2020 from 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Krebsbach and Kulseth Funeral Home Chapel in Bowman , North Dakota.  Family will be present from 4:00pm to 7:00pm.

Betty Joyce ( Johnson ) Niemi was born on September 4, 1931 to George J. and Mamie E. (Stolnack) Johns on in Deadwood, South Dakota . She was the oldest of ten children.

Betty attended country schools in Butte and Harding County, South Dakota and Carter County, Montana. She graduated from the eighth grade at Plainview School in Carter County in the Spring o f 1945. Her parents decided to delay her start of high school for one year so she and her sister, Doris, could go at the same time. Betty helped her parents on the ranch during that year , spending much of the time herding sheep along the Little Missouri River .

Betty attended the first nine-week session of her freshman year at Ekalaka High School and then transferred to Buffalo High School for the remainder of the year. She attended her sophomore year at Newell High School and her junior and senior year s at Belle Fourche High School , graduating in 1950 .

Betty earned a Bachelor of Sci ence degree in Nursing at Montana State University, graduating in 1954.  Betty worked as a Registered Nurse at the former John Burns Memorial Hospital in Belle Fourche, SD f or one year prior to being marri ed . After moving to Harding County, she used that nursing education countless times to provide medical assist ance to Harding County resident s at a time when there was no P A or active clinic in Buffalo.

Betty married John H . Niemi on October 9, 1955 in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. Th ey lived their entire married life on the ranch four miles north of Buffalo. Betty continu ed to live at the ranch after J ohn 's death in 2011 until moving to Peaceful P r airie Estates in Buffalo in 2 017 .

Betty was preced ed in death by her h usban d, John , in July 2011 ; an infant daughter ; one sist er, Marily n Schmidt ; one brother, Doug Johnson ; one sister-in-law and four br others-in-law .

Betty is s urvived by four chi ldren , David (Roxie ) Niemi of Bu f falo, SD; Diane (Ross ) Johnson of Townsend, MT; Dorene (Kelly) Lorge o f Bowman, ND; and Debra Niemi of Rapid City, SD; one brother, Andy (Linda) Johnson of Ra p id City, SD; six sisters , Dor is Johnson of Rap id City, SD; Bever ly M iller of Mission, TX; Dar len e Schaf er of Mission, T X; Ar lene Reynolds of Rapid City, SD; Jud y Johnson of Sioux Falls, SD, and I da (Mel ) John son of Apple Valley, MN ; special cousins, Annitta Stolnack of Newell, SD and Janet Hardy of Largo , FL ; and num erous nieces and nephews.