The Rev. Betty L. Pingel died on September 6, 2023, at the age of 97 (1925-2023).
Betty was born on September 26, 1925, in Denver CO to Mitchell Leavitt and Marjorie O’Neill Leavitt. She was raised mostly in Denver by her mother and attended East Denver High School ,graduating in 1943. Ever since high school, she worked in the church, as a volunteer, in the choir, on committees, and in the church school. In 1948, she received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Colorado.
Betty began her career as a professional Religious Education Director at the First Universalist Church of Denver (1963-1975). During her 13 years there, she was meaningfully involved with adolescents and was remarkably appreciated for her counseling to young people in troubled family situations. She also built a strong community amongst the youth. From 1976 to 1977, she was employed as a consultant in religious education at the UU Church of Boulder CO where she facilitated RE teachers as they worked toward the expression of values and goals.
Betty’s long work in religious education in the church with children, young people, and their parents, served to intensify a natural concern for meaning in the most direct and personal ways. She realized a need for her career to focus on assisting people to grow and change. As a birthright Unitarian, Betty knew the importance of UUism in her own life but now she wished to become a UU minister and work professionally with a church as a facilitator, theologian/preacher, counselor, and educator. In 1977, she earned her Master of Divinity from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver.
Rev. Pingel was ordained by the First Unitarian Church of Denver on May 29, 1977. Following ordination, she served the Second Unitarian Church of Omaha NE as their first full-time settled minister (1977–1981), helping the church double its membership and budget. In 1981, she accepted a call from the UU Church of Fresno CA, where she would serve until 1992. At the Fresno church, she worked to strengthen music, invited children to be a part of the church community, and accommodated RE programs for them. The church was also very proud of her visibility in the wider community. In 1992, the UU Church of Fresno honored her as their minister emerita.
Subsequently, her work turned toward interim ministry at the Gathering at Northern Hills, Cincinnati OH (1992–1993). She helped the Board review their strengths and weaknesses and offered new practical ideas. In addition, she raised the visibility of the RE program, integrated children into the service, and actively worked with consultants and canvass committees in fundraising. Rev. Pingel served as a leader helping to resolve conflicts and heal wounds. From 1993 to 1994, she served her interim ministry at the UU Church of Akron, in Fairlawn OH, moving the church toward health enough to call their next minister.
Thereafter she served the Rogue Valley UU Fellowship, Ashland OR (1994-1995), and The UU Church in Eugene OR (1995–1997). At Eugene, she helped rewrite bylaws and created a policy manual and a vision statement. Following her retirement in 1997, Rev. Pingel provided her services to the UU Congregation of the Grand Valley, Grand Junction CO (1998-1999), as a consulting minister. She gave each of her interim congregations just the strokes, encouragement, and gentle spurring they needed.
In addition to her parish and interim ministries, Rev. Pingel served on the board of the Pacific Central District, and the UU Women’s Federation. She was a member of the UUMA, LREDA, and MSUU. While she was a religious educator, the UUA’s Department of Education published her articles, including:
“Curriculum in Action #10, Understanding Our Church”
“The Conscientious Objector and Our Church School,” and
“Curriculum for Now, #6, Unitarian Universalism as a Valuing Religion.”
In the wider community, Betty served as a member of various groups, such as the Fresno Women’s Network, the League of Women Voters, and The Forum (a professional women’s discussion group). She sat on the boards of the Planned Parenthood of Omaha and of Fresno. For 70 years, she spoke and worked for justice, from civil rights, peace, and nuclear disarmament to Black Lives Matter and global income inequality. She was always hopeful and optimistic, willing to laugh, to learn, to change. She fulfilled the highest criteria of integrity, religious concern, morality, sheer hard work, and warm regard for other human beings. Her sensitivity and wholesomeness permitted others to identify with the human qualities of different cultures and lifestyles.
In her leisure time, Betty loved to listen to traditional jazz and continued her search for knowledge through news, books, and magazines. She traveled extensively with Elderhostel and to visit her children and grandchildren across the U.S. She looked forward to family visits to Denver.
Betty is survived by her son, Mitchell (Peggy); daughters, Barbara Ortega, Gale Loveitt (Thomas Walker), and Shirley Karuzas (Michael ‘Crash’); seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Walter, and son-in-law, Albert Ortega.
A celebration of life was held on Saturday, September 30, 2023, at the First Unitarian Society of Denver.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Indian College Fund <https://collegefund.org/>, 8333 Greenwood Blvd, Denver CO 80221; or the First Unitarian Society of Denver <https://fusden.org/>, 1400 Lafayette St, Denver CO 80218. Notes of condolence can be written here:
<https://www.abplace-funeral-cremation.com/obituaries/Betty-Pingel/#!/TributeWall>.
