Betty Kuffel, M.D.
Biography
Symbolic of the individuality of each woman’s life,
this lip print represents each woman’s unique story.
By changing lip colors, a woman can change her appearance.
By making new choices, she can change her life.
Betty Kuffel M.D.– Whitefish Montana
Hospitalist and ER Physician
Her railroader father had an eighth grade education. Her mother finished high school and was widowed young, with little money and four daughters to raise. Betty was the first in her family to pursue a formal education beyond high school.
She became an RN through a scholarship work-study program, moved to Seattle and worked at the county trauma hospital. After years of increasing responsibility, Betty was encouraged by her peers to enter a ground-breaking University of Washington Nurse Practitioner training program. She was among the 1st class to graduate as a Nurse Practitioner.Following the birth of her son and a failed marriage, she took sailing lessons and met instructor Tom. Their first date was a climb and overnight camp on the summit of 14,000 foot Mount Rainier. To escape a stalking ex-husband they moved to Alaska. There, she raced sled dogs, snow-camped, hiked, forded rivers, fished in remote lakes, flew with Tom and searched for missing airplanes.Betty worked as a Nurse Practitioner and educated nurses in isolated Alaskan communities.After marrying Tom, she completed a Bachelor of Science degree in three years and entered the University of Washington School of Medicine at age thirty-eight. The oldest in her class, she graduated with numerous honors. After Internal Medicine residency, they moved to Montana. Following years in private medical practice and being on call 24/7, Betty transitioned to Emergency Medicine and a defined schedule. She has directed ERs in both Nevada and Montana. In her free time, Betty became a marksman and at age fifty, a pilot. Dr. Kuffel learned aerobatics, took up photography, knitting and writing.
She is a columnist for Montana Woman magazine. Dr. Kuffel was featured in the February 2010 edition. She is pictured on the cover modeling one of her many fun wigs worn during hair loss from chemo therapy. With Betty is her German Shepherd mix dog named Valkyrie.
The concept for starting Lipstick Logic® evolved over years of caring for women in crisis and personal experiences including surviving the crash of their airplane in snowy Idaho mountains.
With Tom trapped in the wreckage and her leg bones protruding through her favorite jeans, Betty had to use a lifetime of acquired skills and mental toughness to survive. Following their crash, the dog was lost in the mountains for ten days. With the help of volunteers, Valkyrie was rescued. Strangers playing tapes of Betty and Tom calling to her, lured the fearful dog out of the mountains.
Today, Betty’s son, his wife and their young daughter bring great joy. Along with many friends and relatives, their support helped Betty and Tom recover from crash injuries, and through Betty’s recent breast cancer treatments.While Betty and her three sisters cared for their dying mother, they spent long hours discussing female life issues. Betty later teamed with her sister Bev to solidify their ideas and desires to help other women. Lipstick Logic’s website content brings science-based health and life skills education to women of all ages.
