Elizabeth “Bette” Mencel Wahl passed away peacefully in her sleep at Milestone Senior Living Memory Care on Sunday, December 27, 2015.

Bette was born in Eau Claire, WI on December 24, 1940 to Charles and Lydia Mencel. She grew up in Eau Claire and was a 1959 graduate of Memorial High School. It was there that she met her husband, Eric. They were married in November of 1964.

As a devoted wife and mother, Bette put her career and education on hold to be a stay-at-home mother until her children were grown. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire in 1992 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Bette had an award-winning career as the Project Coordinator for the Eau Claire Coalition for Youth from 1994 until her retirement in 2011. In 1997 Bette won the Crime Prevention Program of the year from the Wisconsin Crime Practitioners Association. Another highlight was her being honored as one of only seven Americans in 1998 to receive the National Crime Prevention Council’s Ameritech Award of Excellence in Crime Prevention.

Bette was very active in the Eau Claire community, serving on boards for the Senior Center, Junior League, Mental Health Association and Mayo Clinic Health Systems. She was president of the board of L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library and Literacy Volunteers of America. She was an active member of P.E.O. Chapter CH and the American Association of University Women (AAUW). Bette co-founded the Chippewa Valley Watercolor Artists and founded the Friends of the Library organization.

In her spare time Bette loved to golf and play tennis she also enjoyed pursuing her interest in watercolor painting and participated in numerous art exhibits.

She is survived by her three children, Matthew (Cynthia) Wahl of Duluth, MN, Carter Wahl of San Diego, CA and Kathryn (Brian) Paulson of Winona, MN, her brother Charley (Ann) Mencel of Minnetonka, MN, her sister Sedonia Sorenson of Naples, FL and two grandchildren, Eric and Lauren Wahl. She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Hon. Eric James Wahl.

Memorial service will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, January 2, 2016 at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 310 Broadway Street, Eau Claire, WI 54703 with Mary Barnes officiating. Memorial visitation will take place at the church Saturday morning from 9:30 am until the time of service. Private family committal service will take place in Forest Hill Cemetery in Eau Claire prior to the memorial service.

Memorial donations may be made to: Friends of the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, 400 Eau Claire St, Eau Claire, WI 54701. Friends and family may offer condolences online at http://www.fullerspeckienhulke.com.

Fuller Speckien Hulke Funeral Home, 3209 Rudolph Road, Eau Claire, WI 54701 is assisting the family with the arrangements.

Please read the tribute to Bette which appeared in the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram here.