Our wonderful mom, grandmother, aunt and friend, Betty Jean Sawyers Lorenz, passed away on April 23, 2022.
Betty was born on January 2, 1928 in Joseph, Utah to William “Bill” Mac Sawyers and Irene Miller Sawyers, the fifth of eight children. Her family moved from Joseph to Richfield, Utah in time for her to graduate from Richfield High School in 1945 as one of the most popular and definitely tallest girls in her class. The day after graduation, she moved with her family to Tooele. Shortly thereafter she graduated from the Quish School of Beauty Culture and “beautified” the population of Tooele for eleven years.
Betty married Louis Lorenz on May 26, 1956 after an eight-year courtship. Together, they ran L. Lorenz Grinding, a Salt Lake City institution, for many years, providing loyal customers and friends with “everything that cuts”. She also worked side-by-side with Lou in his activities as a ski instructor and founding member and president of the Intermountain Ski Instructors Association. Lou established and managed many ski schools for Salt Lake City youth including the Greater Salt Lake Ski School, and Betty was the bookkeeper, supply chain manager, banker and always-friendly support system for all of Lou’s endeavors.
Betty loved to read, cook delicious meals, and ski (both water and snow) but more than anything, she loved talking and laughing with her family and many, many friends. She was generally recognized as the “president” of the Sawyers family and she loved the family reunions and world travels she shared with her sisters and brothers and their families. She never missed a Richfield high school reunion and even became an honorary West High School alumni through her work on their scholarship committee with Lou. She was a fun and loving “Nena” to her five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
She is survived by her children, Edi Lorenz (Jim Turner), Julia Cook (Carter), grandchildren Carson Cook, Gates (Chelsey) Cook, Courtney (Kyle) Wait and Abram Turner, and three great-grandchildren. Preceded in death by Lou, her granddaughter Mali Turner, and her seven siblings.
A special thanks to the residents and caregivers at Legacy House of Park Lane for their kindness and friendship to Betty during the last months of her life.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, April 30, at 11:00 am at Larkin Mortuary, 260 E South Temple. Viewing from 6:00 – 8:00 pm on Friday and one hour prior to services on Saturday. Interment: Mt. Olivet Cemetery, 1342 East 500 South.
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Betty the world will miss your shining light and your Smile. I can’t think of a time where I didn’t always see you smiling❣️ Your family is going to miss you so very much! It is a good thing that you got to stay here for so many years, & I am grateful I got to see you a couple of summers ago at Bear Lake. God bless your family with peace and love and your many years of wisdom❣️❣️
What a darling lady with such a bright mind and sharp wit! She and Lou raised such beautiful, hard-working and capable daughters, who have made contributions wherever they have lived. I enjoyed hanging out with Edi in her welcoming home while attending High School and they kindly invited me to take a trip with them to Bear Lake. What fun and great memories! My love and condolences to her entire family. She will be missed.
To Betty’s family and friends may the great memories be shared again and again.
Betty’s kind heart and loving spirit will live on.
Warmly Carole
Dear Juli and Edi and families, We are so very sorry to hear about your Mother's passing. She was such an active and vibrant woman. Luckily you had her for a good long time and were able to enjoy her many wisdoms. She lived a wonderful adventuress lifestyle. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all to find strength in God to get through this difficult time.
How I will miss my wonderful Auntie Betty who has been so incredibly supportive and caring towards Bob, our kids and me over so many years. She was such a blessing in our lives and I was of course her favourite niece.! That is an inside family joke. Everyone thought they were the favourite and she wanted us to make sure that we rated her as our favourite auntie too. Just one thing that she did was host baby showers for all the nieces and nieces-in-laws (one of which was me). She even put on a surprise baby shower for my sister. We are from New Zealand and did not have our actual blood family here but she made sure that we felt as important as the rest of the family..I thank her for all the wonderful family reunions that she and Uncle Lou hosted at Bear Lake. They were filled with fun and kept our family connections strong. I am also so grateful that she and the rest of the Sawyers family were so welcoming and kind to me. They made living away from my home country manageable and happy. I love you very much Auntie Betty and will miss you very much.
Dear Julie and Edie, I wish to convey my sincere sympathy to you and your families following the loss of you dearly loved mum. May the memories you hold so dear bring comfort to you all in the days and weeks ahead.
Thinking of you all at this very sad time and treasuring the fond memories I have of your dearly loved mum.
Kindest regards
Allyson .