Elizabeth Pliego, age 70, of Mahnomen, Minnesota, died Sunday, September 2, 2012 at the Mahnomen Health Center Nursing Home under the care of Hospice of the Red River Valley.

Elizabeth was born on November 19, 1941 in Panama City, Panama to Hogarth Noble Kerr and Marina Elizabeth (Garcia) Kerr. Her father was in the Air Force and on July 17, 1943, she, her father and her younger brother, Hogarth, Jr. became United States citizens.

As a toddler, Elizabeth traveled with family from Panama to Costa Rica where they lived for several months. At one point in her dad's career, the family was stationed at the Ladd AFB in Fairbanks, Alaska. Most of Elizabeth's childhood years were spent growing up in California then as an adult she moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. On August 12, 1986 Elizabeth was baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Minneapolis and received a Patriarchal Blessing by the Elder of the LDS Church on December 14, 1986. Elizabeth became a foster parent and lovingly raised four daughters as her own. She often talked about the joys of foster parenting and maintained ties with some of the children that she cared for. In addition to raising her family, Elizabeth worked for Radisson University Hotel and received several Employee of the Month Awards. She was promoted to PBX supervisor in 1990, and was recognized by the United Way for her fundraising contributions. In the late 1990's, Elizabeth moved to Mahnomen, for a short time before relocating to Bemidji, Minnesota. She was admitted to the Mahnomen Nursing Home on October 10, 2011 where she continued to make her home.

Religion was very important to Elizabeth and she would often speak about how much she loved her heavenly father. In her spare time, she loved to watch biblical movies. Elizabeth was also very interested in Native American history and often partook in native dance and music. In her younger years, Elizabeth liked to ballpoint paint but now her favorite thing to do was to go out to eat with family and friends.

Elizabeth is survived by her foster daughters, several grandchildren, her Godchildren, and many many dear friends whom she thought of as family.

Funeral Services will be held at 10:30am on Friday, September 7, 2012 at the Anderson-Mattson Funeral Home in Mahnomen, led by Reverend Don Goodwin.

Serving as pallbearers will be Lasaro Cortez, Dylan Magney, Gordon Usher, Sam Ortley, Marcello Hernandez, and Dustin Swenson. Honorary bearers will be Kym McLean, Carey Minders, Becca, Roxanne Usher, Genevieve Poblano, Sandra Hernandez, Tammy Rangel-Tellez, and Cassie Swenson.

Interment will take place at the Pine Bend Cemetery, Pine Bend, MN, rural Lengby, MN.