Betsey Stergar
A life dedicated to the struggle
Special to Workers World
"Their whole lives were dedicated to the
struggle."
--Gwen, Betsy's comrade for over 30 years
Betsy Marion Stergar, revolutionary communist,
worker, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and so much more
died suddenly at her home on Oct. 22 after a massive heart
attack. She was 84.
Betsy and her late husband Al Stergar, who died in 1996,
were founding members of Workers World Party-Milwaukee branch
beginning in 1967. At the time WWP only had branches in New
York, Buffalo, N.Y., and Youngstown, Ohio.
Betsy is survived by her daughters JoEllen Seifert and
Lauren Sanchez, four children, six grandchildren, numerous
friends and relatives and her Milwaukee comrades Art Marburg
and Gwen Wood.
A socialist life
Betsy Kelsner was born Feb. 4, 1919 in Milwaukee. From birth
she knew the brutal effects of capitalism first-hand.
The daughter of immigrant parents, she lived through the
vicious anti-labor Palmer Raid 1920s and the attempted frame-up
of the Scottsboro defendants, and suffered near-starvation
during the Depression. She experienced with her parents and
siblings the day-to-day struggle to survive.
At the same time Betsy was witness to, participated in, and
supported the militant struggles of that period. Sit-down
strikes, boycotts, anti-racist struggles and more--she was on
the front line of many battles of the working class and
oppressed.
Introduced to socialism during this time, for over 60 years
Betsy never looked back. She and Al married in 1941 during a
time of radical ferment in Milwaukee and the Midwest. For a
time during World War II Betsy worked in various plants and
then waited tables as a permanent job.
At end of the 1940s and beginning of the 1950s, Betsy gave
birth to two daughters--JoEllen and Lauren.
During the 1950s rocks and bricks were thrown through the
windows of Al and Betsy's home and swastikas were painted on
their doors. These actions were in response to their support of
the Rosenbergs, charged with spying for the Soviet Union--and
because they sought justice for Daniel Bell, a young African
American man beaten to death by Milwaukee police; supported
open housing and other civil-rights demands; and of course
refused to renounce socialism and rat out their comrades and
friends.
During the 1960s Betsy helped organized against the Vietnam
War, most notably with the organization Youth Against War and
Fascism. YAWF's Milwaukee chapter office was firebombed.
Members were beaten by cops and fascists. YAWF contended with
countless other menaces. YAWF members frequently battled the
cops and Nazis.
In the early 1970s the Milwaukee chapters of YAWF and WWP
helped the American Indian Movement and other Native
organizations fight and win against the first attempted
frame-up of Leonard Peltier. Throughout the later 1970s and
1980s Betsy helped fight against the U.S. invasions in Latin
America and the police murder of Ernest Lacy, and participated
in thousands of progressive and revolutionary actions.
Although she had carpal tunnel syndrome from years of
household, waiting tables and other work, Betsy, was almost
always the first one to volunteer for bookkeeping, clerical
work, folding leaflets, staffing the literature table, stuffing
envelopes, taking minutes and performing the other
behind-the-scenes tasks that keep a party and its mass
organizations alive and moving.
Betsy was also known for always giving contributions, and
gently-and sometimes not so gently suggesting others do the
same, despite her fixed income. Whether it was a dollar, ten or
more, Betsy's monetary contributions often helped to make that
many more leaflets, help someone get on the bus, or keep the
office open another month.
Always a faithful subscriber to Workers World newspaper,
Betsy emphasized the need for a revolutionary newspaper and
other media.
During the mid-to-late 1990s Betsy worked with the
anti-racist community organization the A Job is a Right
Campaign, most noted for its work fighting against W-2,
Wisconsin's Draconian dismantling of Aid to Families with
Dependent Children. As an organizer for AJRC she often attended
Milwaukee County Labor Council meetings. Betsy always
remembered and supported union struggles.
The struggle continues...
In her last years Betsy lit up when talking about the
national anti-war demonstrations organized by ANSWER and
others. Although she was unable to attend the demonstrations
because of her health, Betsy always tuned into CSPAN to catch
the broadcasts. She was delighted to see the anti-imperialist
movement, especially within the United States, alive and
growing.
One of Betsy's last cross-country trips was to New York City
to attend a WWP conference celebrating the 150th anniversary of
"The Communist Manifesto."
Although Betsy would be the first one to remind us of Joe
Hill's words--"Don't mourn; organize"--we must never forget
elders like her who sacrificed so much and never lost their
vision, or their iron-clad conviction that socialism is not
only possible, itinevitable.
BETSY MARION STERGAR: PRESENTE!
Bryan G. Pfeifer contributed to this report.
Reprinted from the Nov. 6, 2003, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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