Obituaries & Guestbook

Betty Jane (Breitenbach) Markowitz, an accomplished former Foreign Service Specialist, passed away at the age of 96 on April 20, 2023, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. What a role model she was for her younger cousins! She is missed and remembered fondly by family and friends.

Betty was born on February 13, 1927 in Wautoma, Wisconsin, to Leona (Larson) and Harold Breitenbach. After graduating from Waukesha High School in 1944, Betty  worked at the Wisconsin State Tuberculosis Sanatorium, established for the treatment of state residents in the early stages of pulmonary tuberculosis.

In 1960, Betty joined the Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State, where she served until her retirement in 1986. During her tenure with the State Department, Betty was posted in Frankfurt, TelAviv, Tehran, Tokyo, and Panama City. It was in Panama where she met her husband, Melvin Markowitz, whom she married in September 1975. Together they served at the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia, Liberia. Betty’s work with the State Department gave her the opportunity to explore different parts of the world, which she enjoyed immensely.

In retirement, Betty became a competitive ballroom dancer and often spent time poolside with her dear friends. Though she lived in Alexandria, Virginia, Betty frequently visited family in Wisconsin. She shared her delightful memories of the Larson farm in Wautoma which she called home for much of her childhood. She never missed relaxing at “the cottage,”  on nearby Silver Lake. She is survived by cousins and her faithful friend Kaye Vander Ven of Maryland.

After a private blessing by Pastor Jim Mckenzie (First United Church of Christ), Betty will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. Memorial gifts in her honor can be made to We all Rise (Green Bay) or the First United Church of Christ (Green Bay).  Mail to Proko-Wall Funeral Home, 1630 E. Mason St., Green Bay, WI 54302 and add ATT: Markowitz family on the bottom left side of the envelope.