Obituary of Betty June Gruetzmacher

Betty June Roberts Gruetzmacher died peacefully in her sleep Saturday, March 31st at home in Tampa where she resided with her niece Linda Bishop and Linda's husband Gordon Helser. She was 88 years old. She was born in Charlotte Harbor in 1924 to Judge William Ruben Roberts and Maria Lopez Roberts. She was the youngest of eight children. Betty attended Charlotte Harbor High School and graduated from St Petersburg High School in 1942. Betty then graduated from Mound Park School of Nursing in St Petersburg (now Bayfront Hospital) in 1945 as a Registered Nurse. Betty was a surgical nurse and a dental surgeon's nurse as well as a nurse on the Silver Meteor train between New York and Miami. In 1953 she joined the Maryknoll Sisters and became a Catholic nun (Sister Maura Therese). She was sent to Pusan, Korea where she worked as a surgical nurse and hospital administrator for 12 years. In 1969, due to health issues, she was forced to leave the Maryknoll Sisters,. Betty then worked with her sister Mary Bennett in Real Estate in Ft. Meyers, FL, where she achieved a Broker's license. In 1974 Betty married widower Casey Gruetzmacher and became an instant mother to his four children. Betty and Casey lived in Alva, FL. She and Casey built the interiors of many new Burger King restaurants across the southeast. After Casey died in 1995, she moved to a condo in Sea Towers in St Petersburg to take care of her remaining sister, Ann Ott. Betty was preceded in death by her husband, her six sisters and one brother. She is survived by her four step children (Maryanne Gruetzmacher of Sparta, TN, Fran (John) Sergio of Sparta, TN, Barbara (Tom) Harmon of Elkhorn, WI and Greg (Carol Ann) Gruetzmacher of Mt. Dora, FL), 16 grandchildren and 38 great grandchildren, her sister-in-law Grace Roberts of Tampa, and many nieces and nephews. Visitation will be held at 10:30am on Tuesday, April 10th at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church at 11501 66th Ave N, Seminole, FL. Funeral Mass at 11am, followed by a reception. Burial will be in the family plot in Charlotte Harbor, FL at a later date. In lieu of flowers, you may make a donation to: Benedictine Sisters of Florida Holy Name Monastery P.O. Box 2450 St. Leo, FL 33547-2450