Betty McAnany lived life to its fullest for 91 years. She peacefully left this earth on August 7, 2019.
She was born in Mexico City, Mexico on February 7, 1928 to parents Alfonso and Maria Elena Scherer. Betty's given name was Beatriz Elena Scherer, but she was always 'Betty'.
Betty grew up in Mexico City enjoying its cosmopolitan culture and spending weekends hiking in the mountains. She graduated from the Mexico City Feminine University with a degree in Interior Decorating.
In 1948 Betty met a young American, Dick McAnany, from Shawnee, KS who was attending the University of Mexico City on his GI Bill. A three year long distance courtship ended when Dick and his best friend Pat Nieman drove from Shawnee, to Acapulco to see Betty. They were married two weeks later and Betty was off to her life in Shawnee.
Betty and Dick were married for 46 years. They began raising their family of 8 children on Nieman Road in Shawnee and moved to Lake Quivira in 1968. Betty was involved in the Lake Quivira community serving as President of both the Garden Club and the Quivira Golf Association as well as helping with the Junior Golf program and many social events. Numerous trees on the Lake Quvira golf course and the Lake Quivira grounds were planted because of her dedicated passion for enhancing her surrounding landscape.
In 1983 Dick and Betty together began spending winters in Tucson, Arizona establishing a strong network of friends. They enjoyed years of golfing, hiking, exploring the surroundings and hosting countless friends and family visits. In 1997 when Dick passed away, Betty continued spending her winters there until 2016.
With Dick's passing, Betty truly lost the love of her life but continued to fulfill a life of adventure and curiosity by traveling the world with friends and family. No country was too far, no hike was too long, no quest in search for a particular bird was unattainable. As our cherished Matriarch, both children, and grandchildren attentively adhered to any requests such as looking for lost golf balls, exploring new trails and always, no matter the time, would play Gin Rummy for hours. She loved life and found joy in her family, friends and love of nature.
Betty was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Alfonso Scherer, husband Dick and son, Larry. She leaves her children, Richard (Joanie), Betsy (Roger Vossman), Stephanie (Hal Boyles), Pat (Mel), Tim (Alesia), Phil (Barb) and Paul (Maria). Also dearly missing her will be her 19 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren.
Both the Visitation and Funeral Mass will be held at St. Joseph Church in Shawnee, Kansas. The Visitation will be Tuesday, August 13th from 4:00-6:00 and the Funeral Mass Wednesday, August 14th at 10:00.
A very heartfelt thanks to Betty's wonderful caretakers, Tammy Rieke and Necole Boolin, who were her daily fun companions during her last 3 years. Also special thanks to Compassionate Care Hospice.