Betty Grenig, longtime Arizona Red Cross volunteer, dies at 101
Betty Grenig: Red Cross remembers life and legacy of longtime volunteer
Volunteers are the engine that makes the Red Cross run, and for one woman, it was also a major part of her life. Betty Grenig, who died at the age of 101, showed up to volunteer faithfully, every week, until three months before her passing. Now, officials with the Red Cross are remembering the legacy that Grenig left behind. FOX 10's Irene Snyder reports.
PHOENIX - A woman who volunteered for the Red Cross in Arizona for decades has died at the age of 101.
Betty Grenig passed away on April 16 at the start of National Volunteer Week, according to the Red Cross.
"She went peacefully, and she didn't leave any stone unturned. She lived her life to the fullest," said Danielle Kalmansohn, a Volunteer Services Recruitment Specialist with the Red Cross.
An event to remember Grenig took place on April 27 in Phoenix.
"To go from that era of life and start volunteering at 17 years old, knitting socks for troops, coming through for all the different lines of service in the American Red Cross, it was a remarkable life, and we're just so grateful to have known her," said Colin Williams with the Red Cross. "I was drawn to her because of her magnetic energy and her life and volunteering."
Grenig was the longest-serving volunteer in the nonprofit's history, with a total of 84 years served. When she was 20, Grenig dedicated her time to helping others following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Grenig volunteered almost right up until her passing: her last day was three months prior to her death.
"I would pick her up every Thursday, 9:00 a.m. sharp. We would always say 'I'd call her every Wednesday night confirm it is still on.' We'd have a wonderful drive into the office," said Kalmansohn.
In her later years, Grenig would assemble packets at a desk. Those packets would then go out to disaster victims.
"Clients that would suffer a home fire, flood, anything like that, which meant so much to her because even though she was limited on what capacity she could volunteer, it still meant so much to her that what she was doing would go to people in need," said Kalmansohn.
Betty Grenig (Courtesy: American Red Cross)
Grenig's fellow Red Cross members will miss her smile, her drive, and most of all, her desire to serve.
"When Betty spoke, we would all lean over and listen because we knew the kind of wisdom she had, and we knew that she was always coming from a place deep in her heart that was centered just around helping people," said Williams.
Another event for Grenig is scheduled for August 15, 2023, when she would have turned 102.