Tequesta, FL - The world lost an exceptional person when Elizabeth Holm Riddle died on Jan. 4, 2026 at the age of 104 in Tequesta, FL. Betty was born on July 15, 1921 in north Minneapolis to John Alfred Holm and Ethel Mae Skelly Holm. She was predeceased by her husband of 32 years Abner "Ab" Riddle, her siblings Clifford Holm, Dorothy Holm Gray and nephew Bill Gray Jr. Growing up, Ethel made sure her children had dance, elocution and piano lessons. Betty loved movement, music and dogs. She also enjoyed being in the sun, boating and fishing. She attended Willard grade school, Lincoln junior high and graduated from North High in 1939. She attended the University of Minnesota for one semester but dropped out and began working as a bookkeeper for her maternal uncle, Harold Skelly for $15 a week. She bought a phonograph on an installment plan for $2 a week and started collecting sheet music.

In 1943, along with close cousin Mary Skelly, they drove Clifford's old DeSoto to California where they found work at the Douglas Aircraft Co. plant in Santa Monica. At 26, Betty moved to Brazil to help older sister Dorothy and her husband Bill Gray Sr. and their young family as they settled in Sao Paolo for Wilson & Co. After three years Betty returned to Minneapolis, got a job at the U of M and taught dance in the evenings downtown at the Palm Dance Studio at 7th and Hennepin. After passing a test at the Nicollet Hotel, she joined the State Dept. in D.C. and was sent to Panama in 1951 to work as a decoder. When the State Dept. wanted to post her to Europe, she transferred to the CIA believing her fluency in Spanish and Portuguese were better suited to the Americas. While in Panama she met Ab, an Ohioan, WWII veteran and country manager for ExxonMobil. Ab was transferred to Haiti not long after they met and they began a long-distance telephone romance. A year later, Ab proposed. Since there were no jewelry stores in Haiti, Betty bought their wedding rings in Panama, quit the CIA and moved to Port-au-Prince. They were married on May 17, 1953 at Holy Trinity Cathedral.

The government in Haiti collapsed in 1957 and they escaped to Nassau, The Bahamas. Ab retired in 1962 after 38 years with ExxonMobil and his U.S. Army service in military intelligence. They missed good ice cream and began to look for places in Florida where they could live, finally settling in Tequesta. In retirement Betty and Ab enjoyed traveling, entertaining and playing golf, tennis and Bridge. Betty was a consummate entertainer, known to lead sing a'longs behind the piano. Summers were spent at their home on Big Lake in Bemidji, MN, a place Betty and her family had enjoyed spending time since 1932.

After Ab died in 1984, Betty kept busy helping a friend in her Tequesta consignment shop. She spent time in Mazatlán, Mexico brushing up on her Spanish. She continued to travel, play tennis into her 90's and was always ready for a good book, crossword puzzle or game of Bridge. There was a genuine sparkle in Betty along with an eagerness to explore and try new things. She was a great listener and lived her life guided by three habits: don't judge, don't give advice and don't gossip. She didn't hold grudges. Perhaps that is why everyone who met Betty became a friend. Even the children of her friends became her friends. She never complained and remained active and engaged until the end of her life. At 103 she was still going out to dinner dressed to the nines. At 104 she was still able to talk about the present and future in the home she and Ab bought in 1964. Betty only talked about the past if you brought it up or had a question about it. Betty was a much-loved person with a well-lived life.

Betty is survived by her nieces Gia Gray Kester of Nassau, The Bahamas; Carolyn Gray Boyd of Paradise, CA; Mary Gray of Glendale, CA; Janet Gray Weaver of Oklahoma City, OK; seven great-nieces and great-nephews and many friends. A service for Betty was held earlier in January in Tequesta. On Friday, July 24, 2026 family and friends will gather near Big Lake in Bemidji to celebrate this remarkable woman at 11:00 a.m. at St. Charles Church, 2500 Scenic Hwy. NE, Pennington, MN 55663. Interment at Ten Lake Cemetery in Cass Lake, MN.