Betty J. Rohr's Obituary
Betty J. Rohr, nee Bouas, 90, of Columbia, Illinois, born in Lively Grove Township, Washington County, Illinois, passed away Friday, September 23, 2022 at Oak Hill Senior Living and Rehabilitation Center.
Betty was raised on a farm and went to school in a one-room country school house called Prest School in Washington County, Illinois. She graduated second in her class from Marissa Township High School. She was offered a scholarship if she committed to teach for two years, but declined because teaching was not her calling. Instead, she moved to St. Louis to live with her friends and to work as a secretary.
She met Frank Rohr, the one and only love of her life, on a blind date on New Year’s Eve, 1950. Frank and Betty had a long-distance courtship, as Frank was just a few months into his enlistment in the Army. They married on May 19, 1953 in Grand Prairie, Texas, and lived in Belleville, Illinois until Frank’s employer transferred him to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1976. They lived in Greensburg, Pennsylvania until another transfer took them to Benton, Arkansas in 1986. They returned closer to their roots upon Frank’s retirement in 1994 when they moved to Columbia, Illinois, just a short distance from their two children. They were inseparable until Frank’s death, and are now reunited.
Betty was a long-standing member of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Belleville, Illinois. She left her secretarial job when her first child was born and became a full-time homemaker, providing a loving family home. She was a Christian woman, devoted to her husband, children, and grandchildren. People who met her found her “sweet,” and she had a dry sense of humor when she let it out. Her favorite activities were family reunions.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Herman P. and Gertrude Bouas, nee Mazander, three sisters, Elva McClay, Marjorie Patton, and Ella Mae Wilson, and one brother, Raymond Bouas.
Surviving are her children, Mark (Terry) Rohr, of Highland Village, Texas, and Peggy (Michael) Ray, of Columbia, Illinois; grandsons Alex Rohr, Aaron Rohr, and David Ray; granddaughters, Angela (Christopher) Turner and Kelly Walsh; great grandson, Cooper Ray, and great granddaughter, Lennon Turner, and other relatives and friends.
As an expression of sympathy, the family prefers memorial contributions to: Hope Christian Church for specific use by the Hope Food Pantry, and the American Lung Association.
Funeral: at Betty‘s request, there will be no public services.
Arrangements were handled by Leesman Funeral Home in Columbia, IL.
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