Obituary of Betty Lou Lacina

Betty L. (Propst) Lacina, age 91, lifetime Iowa City area resident, died Monday, February 1, 2021, at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. After a brief illness. A visitation for family and friends will be held on Monday, February 8th from 4 to 7 pm at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service. Family services will be held on Tuesday at 11am at the funeral home and can be viewed by family and friends through the livestreaming feature on the funeral home website @ www.gayandciha.com at Betty’s page under obituary. In lieu of flowers memorial donations can be made in Betty’s Memory to Pilot International, a philanthropic organization that Betty loved. To share a thought, memory or condolence with her family please visit the funeral home website. Betty Lou Propst was born in Union Township, west of Iowa City, on the family farm on April 18, 1929 to Myrtle (Finch) & William Propst. She was the youngest of four children, went to country school until 8th grade and was active in 4H. Betty was boarded by several families in Iowa City during her high school years and graduated from Iowa City High School in 1947. She attended the University of Iowa and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Occupational Therapy in 1951. Upon graduation Betty took a job with the state of Iowa at the Oakdale Sanatorium as a Registered Occupational Therapist. While at Oakdale she met Wayne R. Lacina, a young accountant in the Oakdale business office. After a brief courtship, Betty & Wayne were married on February 7, 1953. They moved to Iowa City in 1968 to raise their family but both continued to work at Oakdale until their retirement, 35 years later in 1986. Betty & Wayne enjoyed entertaining lifelong friends at their lake cabin on the Coralville Reservoir for many years while raising their family. In retirement they played golf and enjoyed traveling together. With Wayne’s Parkinson’s Disease, Betty steadfastly provided care for Wayne at home and later was a daily companion at Oaknoll for nearly seven years. She was well known to the Oaknoll staff prior to becoming a resident in 2015, shortly after Wayne’s death. Betty was a lifelong member of First Presbyterian Church in Iowa City and active in Pilot Club up until her death. Betty is survived by her sister, Janithe Lewis of Cedar Rapids, IA; daughter, Andrea (Brian) Lacina of Englewood, CO, Andrea's step-son, Jason Dempsey (Denver CO); son, Warren (Sandy) Lacina of Burnsville; MN, granddaughter, Melissa Lacina of St. Louis, Park, MN; grandson, Marshall (Jordana) Lacina of Loretto, MN; great-grandson, Levi Lacina; niece, Karen (Bruce) Cyr of Kensington, MD and nephew, Kent (Gretchen) Lewis of Burlington, IA.