Betty L Stripe

Betty L. Stripe, 102, of Rock Island, IL passed away on September 14, 2023. A funeral service will be held at 1:00 pm on Tuesday, September 19, 2023 at Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home and Crematory, Rock Island. Visitation will be from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm on Tuesday at the funeral home. Burial will be in Rock Island National Cemetery, Arsenal Island. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Betty’s memory to the ASPCA or QC Animal Welfare Center, Milan.

Betty was born May 12, 1921, in Mercer County near Joy, IL, to Lyle and Mildred (Boruff) Kistler. A graduate of Joy High School, she attended Rock Island Business College. Betty was employed at Modern Woodmen of America for five years during World War II. While her fiancée flew missions over Europe, navigating planes by the stars, she and her roommates worked eight hours a day at Modern Woodmen. They also worked from 7 until 11 p.m. in the evenings and on Saturdays at the Rock Island Arsenal as Junior Laborers for the war effort.

Post-war, she was united in marriage to the love of her life, Lt. Herschel F. Stripe on December 21, 1944 and he preceded her in death in December of 1975.

While living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with Herschel and her two children, she was active in the PTA, Camp Fire Girls, and Cub Scouts.

When they moved back to Rock Island, she was employed at McCabes Department Store until they closed. Betty was a long-time member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Milan, IL. The matriarch of her family, Betty hosted every holiday for her extended relatives, and they continue to remember each one with great fondness. Her favorite hobby was playing scrabble with friends and family.

Surviving Betty is her son, Jim (Sandy) Stripe, Portland, Oregon; four grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and her younger sister, Bonnie J. Kistler Hinde, Highland Park, Illinois.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; daughter, Barbara Stripe Kimm; and her grandson, Jason Stripe.

Beloved by all who knew her, she continued to make friends in hospice care until mere days before she died, frequently spending time with her grandson, Ted Kimm, and her roommate and visitors, laughing and watching the birds out her window. Hers was a life well lived.

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