Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Schalk

Elizabeth “Betsy” Schalk, 51, of Merrimack passed away unexpectedly at her home on Tuesday, February 1st, 2022.

She was born in Harrisburg, PA on October 9th, 1970 to Virginia (Schultz) and the late David Schartner. Betsy will be forever loved and remembered by her mother; Ginnie, her husband of 20 years, Brian Schalk; two children, Samantha and Ethan Schalk; three siblings, Bruce Schartner & his wife Weng; sons Alec, Jarret & Ryan Schartner, Dee-Ann (Schartner) Decker and her husband John; daughter Morgan Decker, Steven Schartner; son Rob Schartner, two step brothers Matthew & Thomas Combs; along with the entire Schalk family, as well as many other aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins of the Schultz and Schartner families.

She was raised in Weare & Concord, NH, graduated from Concord High School and received her associates degree from NHTI. She worked at NH Hospital while in college, and later Geac, Scribe Software, and Fidelity.

She moved to Weare as a small child where she made many favorite memories and collected stories of growing up on a farm, skiing at Pat’s Peak, and road tripping and camping with her family.

Betsy enjoyed photography, skiing, spending time with her family and had a deep love for animals (especially her dogs Boog and Grace). She particularly loved spending time at her family camp on Bear Island, Lake Winnipesaukee. She loved going to school and sporting events for all the kids.

Betsy was the glue that kept her family connected. She loved keeping up with her far reaching family and friends. Betsy had a gift of remembering everyone and the ability to recall stories others had forgotten that she graciously shared at family gatherings and reunions.

A memorial service for Betsy will be held on Saturday, February 12th, 2022 at 3 pm at St. Paul’s church in Concord, NH. A celebration of life, to connect as Betsy would, will be scheduled for the spring.

Betsy fought a long hard battle with her mental health and requested that we continue to advocate for better mental health care, especially around education and management of the dangers and dependencies of prescription benzodiazepines and depression medications.

For those who wish, memorial contributions can be made to The Alliance for Benzodiazepine Best Practices, 3221 NE 30th Ave, Portland, OR 97212 https://benzoreform.org or NAMI NH,85 N State St, Concord, NH 03301

To leave an online condolence, please visit rivetfuneralhome.com