- Memorial Day Parade
- Second Friday the 13th
- Farmers market opens May 21
- Hello (again), Dolly!
- Kreider Farms opens silo observation tower
- ‘Hello, Dolly!’ opens Thursday at EPAC
- ‘Somewhereville Station’ revisits the 50s and 60s
- Manheim Downtown Development Group will dissolve
- MC Art Show doubles in size
- Warwick students are tops at county science fair
Rev. Elizabeth Ann Wirtz, 75, Assemblies of God minister, educator, enjoyed choral music
Rev. Elizabeth Ann “Bette” Wirtz, 75, of Brethren Village Terrace Crossings, Lititz, formerly of Neffsville and Timonium, Md., died at Select Specialty Hospital in Harrisburg, April 9, 2014.
Born in Watchung, N.J., she was the daughter of the late Rev. Alfred D. and Helen (Matthews) Boyd. Bette’s husband of 44 years, Donald W. Wirtz, died in 2011.
Bette served the Lord in various ministries through the Church and more recently as Adjunct Professor at Valley Forge Christian College in Valley Forge. Her ministries have included instruction and the many aspects of church life and spiritual growth. Bette holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from Loyola College of Baltimore and the Master of Arts Degree in Education from Regent University, Virginia Beach.
She brought teachings on Biblical concepts for church leadership and renewal, the ministry of hospitality and choir ministries, and pastoral counseling matters. Bette served in foreign missions outreaches in Singapore where she in-serviced local leaders on pastoral counseling. She also traveled to Italy and Germany with choir tours from Valley Forge Christian College.
Rev. Wirtz served on the Pastoral Staff at Trinity Assembly of God, Lutherville, Md., for ten years. During her tenure at Trinity, Bette designed and implemented A Christian Counseling Centre training some 50 caregivers and ministered to many hundreds of individuals and families. During this time she worked under the tutelage of Richard Dobbins, PhD of Emerge Ministries, Akron, Ohio and Gilbert Clapperton, PhD of Loyola College. Bette also was Minister of Music at Hereford United Methodist Church, Hereford, MD for two years. Rev. Wirtz taught Spiritual Leadership Courses at Philadelphian Christian Center, Philadelphia and Spring City. Bette is a credentialed minister with the Assemblies of God.
Bette enjoyed music, drama, art, reading, the Chesapeake Bay, homemaking, decorating and working on the computer.
Surviving are three brothers: Rev. Dr. William R. Boyd, Sr., husband of Josephine, Dayton, Tenn., Dr. David H. Boyd, husband of Carol, Lakeland, Fla., Alfred D. Boyd, Jr., husband of Jo Anne, Lancaster; and her nephews and nieces: Mark Boyd, husband of Dolores, Lititz, Dr. William R. Boyd, Jr., Dayton, Tenn., Deb Warren, wife of Hugh, Louisiana, Joseph Boyd, Lakeland, Fla., Beth Boyd, Lakeland, Fla., John Boyd, Kissimmee, Fla., Thomas A. Boyd, Mechanicsburg and Julia A. Boyd, Ozark, Miss.
Services were held April 14 in the Chapel of Calvary Church, Lancaster, with her brother Rev. Dr. William R. Boyd, Sr. officiating. Burial was in Dulaney Memorial Gardens, Timonium, Md.
Memorial contributions may be mailed to Valley Forge Christian College, 1401 Charlestown Rd., Phoenixville, PA 19460 of Teen Challenge Training Center, c/o Finance Dept., PO Box 98, Rehrersburg, PA 19550.
To send the family online condolences, visit SynderFuneralHome.com. Arrangements entrusted to Charles F. Snyder Jr. Funeral Home & Crematory, Lititz.