Betty Rose Booth
September 24th, 1926 - November 12th, 2022
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Betty's Obituary
Betty Rose (Koller) Booth, 96, passed peacefully into her eternal home and met her savior, Jesus Christ, at Woodland Terrace of Paw Paw Lake in Coloma, Mich. on Saturday Nov. 12, 2022. Her family will cherish her memory and rejoice in knowing she remains alive with Christ for eternity in Heaven.
She was born Sept. 24, 1926, at Grant Hospital in Chicago to Karl and Frieda (Strubezky) Koller. Betty grew up in Chicago with three sisters, a brother (and a baby brother who died young) during hardscrabble times of the Great Depression and World War II. She graduated from Steinmetz High School in June 1944, where she played clarinet and earned three letters in Band, Service and GAA.
Betty got her first job at Mars Candy Co. at age 16. She moved on to work at Douglas Aircraft, sealing and testing fuel tanks for C-54 Skymaster transport airplanes during World War II. The company’s plant later became O’Hare International Airport. Betty’s dream as a little girl was flying an airplane, but she settled for motorcycles instead. She went on a cross-country motorcycle trip from Chicago to California in her 20s with Peggy Booth Fahrion, who eventually became her sister-in-law.
Betty married George William Booth Jr. in Chicago on Jan. 21, 1950. They lived 15 years to the fullest together and brought three loving daughters into the world before he preceded her in death on June 24, 1965, when Betty was 39 years old.
Betty raised her three daughters alone in a cozy home on a corner lot on Wesley Terrace in Schiller Park, Illinois, where she lived for 64 years. She spent countless hours outdoors tending her expansive organic vegetable garden. She drove a school bus for Districts 81 and 212 for 20 years to make ends meet. She dedicated her life to the Lord and centered her life around family. Betty was never well off financially, but God blessed her richly with the gift of hospitality. She loved cooking for gatherings, baking her delicious cinnamon rolls, making fudge and giving gifts. Even into her 90s, no Thanksgiving was complete without Betty’s bread rolls. She also was an avid reader in her spare time.
Betty loved the Lord and everyone she met. She always kept a supply of tracts on hand to pass along an encouraging word to anyone she encountered. She was active in several churches during her lifetime. She sponsored the youth group, supported missionaries, cooked and counseled several summers at church Camp Manitoumi and cared for individuals in need. In her 70s, she traveled on a mission trip to Laos. Betty faithfully played the piano for Pacific Garden Mission and at her church into her 80s. She remained active at Westchester Bible Church, where she attended for the last five years until she moved in with her daughters.
Betty was preceded in death by her parents, Karl and Frieda Koller; her husband, George; her sisters, Magdalene Mayhak, Dorothy Klein and Carlene Schmidt; brothers, Carl and Bruce Koller; her daughter and son-in-law, Sally Jo and Scott Koefoed; and her great-granddaughter, Anna Rose Jeltema.
She leaves behind a big family to cherish memories of her: daughters, Ginny Lee (Ralph) Warren of Zion, Ill. and Peggy Ann (Douglas) Clore of St. Joseph, Mich.; grandchildren Jonathan (Suzanne) Koefoed, Daniel (Bethany) Koefoed, Rebekah (Daniel) Lombardo, Joanna (Stephen) Bartone, John (Tiffany) Warren, Amy (Jared) Foster, Katherine (Ryan) Jeltema, David (Maeve) Clore; great-grandchildren Anna Katherine and Sophia Koefoed, Levi, Gabriel, Caleb and Evangeline Koefoed, Arabella, Joshua and Michael Lombardo; Nathan, William and James Warren, Jesse and Evan Foster, Lucy, Victoria and Benjamin Jeltema and Ophelia Clore.
Funeral services will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 19 at The Church of Chicago (formerly Grace Church) at 4244 Grace St. in Schiller Park, Ill. with the Rev. John DeVries officiating. Burial will be at Elmwood Cemetery in River Grove, Ill. next to her beloved George.
Friends may visit with the family Saturday from 10 a.m. until the service at the church. Those wishing to sign Betty’s Memory Book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com.
In lieu of flowers, Betty would have appreciated gifts in her honor to a Christian ministry, such as Gideons International.
She was born Sept. 24, 1926, at Grant Hospital in Chicago to Karl and Frieda (Strubezky) Koller. Betty grew up in Chicago with three sisters, a brother (and a baby brother who died young) during hardscrabble times of the Great Depression and World War II. She graduated from Steinmetz High School in June 1944, where she played clarinet and earned three letters in Band, Service and GAA.
Betty got her first job at Mars Candy Co. at age 16. She moved on to work at Douglas Aircraft, sealing and testing fuel tanks for C-54 Skymaster transport airplanes during World War II. The company’s plant later became O’Hare International Airport. Betty’s dream as a little girl was flying an airplane, but she settled for motorcycles instead. She went on a cross-country motorcycle trip from Chicago to California in her 20s with Peggy Booth Fahrion, who eventually became her sister-in-law.
Betty married George William Booth Jr. in Chicago on Jan. 21, 1950. They lived 15 years to the fullest together and brought three loving daughters into the world before he preceded her in death on June 24, 1965, when Betty was 39 years old.
Betty raised her three daughters alone in a cozy home on a corner lot on Wesley Terrace in Schiller Park, Illinois, where she lived for 64 years. She spent countless hours outdoors tending her expansive organic vegetable garden. She drove a school bus for Districts 81 and 212 for 20 years to make ends meet. She dedicated her life to the Lord and centered her life around family. Betty was never well off financially, but God blessed her richly with the gift of hospitality. She loved cooking for gatherings, baking her delicious cinnamon rolls, making fudge and giving gifts. Even into her 90s, no Thanksgiving was complete without Betty’s bread rolls. She also was an avid reader in her spare time.
Betty loved the Lord and everyone she met. She always kept a supply of tracts on hand to pass along an encouraging word to anyone she encountered. She was active in several churches during her lifetime. She sponsored the youth group, supported missionaries, cooked and counseled several summers at church Camp Manitoumi and cared for individuals in need. In her 70s, she traveled on a mission trip to Laos. Betty faithfully played the piano for Pacific Garden Mission and at her church into her 80s. She remained active at Westchester Bible Church, where she attended for the last five years until she moved in with her daughters.
Betty was preceded in death by her parents, Karl and Frieda Koller; her husband, George; her sisters, Magdalene Mayhak, Dorothy Klein and Carlene Schmidt; brothers, Carl and Bruce Koller; her daughter and son-in-law, Sally Jo and Scott Koefoed; and her great-granddaughter, Anna Rose Jeltema.
She leaves behind a big family to cherish memories of her: daughters, Ginny Lee (Ralph) Warren of Zion, Ill. and Peggy Ann (Douglas) Clore of St. Joseph, Mich.; grandchildren Jonathan (Suzanne) Koefoed, Daniel (Bethany) Koefoed, Rebekah (Daniel) Lombardo, Joanna (Stephen) Bartone, John (Tiffany) Warren, Amy (Jared) Foster, Katherine (Ryan) Jeltema, David (Maeve) Clore; great-grandchildren Anna Katherine and Sophia Koefoed, Levi, Gabriel, Caleb and Evangeline Koefoed, Arabella, Joshua and Michael Lombardo; Nathan, William and James Warren, Jesse and Evan Foster, Lucy, Victoria and Benjamin Jeltema and Ophelia Clore.
Funeral services will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 19 at The Church of Chicago (formerly Grace Church) at 4244 Grace St. in Schiller Park, Ill. with the Rev. John DeVries officiating. Burial will be at Elmwood Cemetery in River Grove, Ill. next to her beloved George.
Friends may visit with the family Saturday from 10 a.m. until the service at the church. Those wishing to sign Betty’s Memory Book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com.
In lieu of flowers, Betty would have appreciated gifts in her honor to a Christian ministry, such as Gideons International.
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