Elizabeth Eva Teets

Elizabeth Taylor Teets, a Cleveland resident since 1994, died Wednesday, August 31, 2011 in a local healthcare facility. She was 91. A native of Rockford, Illinois, Betty met her future husband, Bob in a cafeteria line there in 1937 while he was passing through as a highway engineer building U.S. 20. They married within weeks and embarked on a nomadic life along the road as it stretched west. At stops along the way, she worked in defense jobs during World War II- sewing gunpowder bags, operating overhead cranes- until they settled in Astoria, Oregon. The couple moved back to northern Illinois in the late 1940's and used it as a base for travels around the country and the globe until their move to East Tennessee. For decades, they kept a winter home in Mesa, Arizona and were active in Airstream travel trailer groups. Betty was an enthusiastic member of Newcomers after her arrival in Cleveland and soon joined potluck and card groups that provided precious friendships and support, especially after Bob’s death in 2005. Survivors include her son, John Teets and his partner of 33 years, Robert Rymer, whom Betty called her second son; sisters-in-law, Nadine Acker, Annabelle Junge and Elizabeth del Carmen; brother-in-law, Fred Lowe; numerous nieces and nephews; and her devoted caregiver, Billy Jo Flowers and Billy Jo’s extended family. One daughter, Mary Ann, died in infancy. The family will celebrate Betty’s life with an informal gathering from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at the Museum Center at Five Points. The family requests that any memorials be made to the Leah F. Hoyle Fund at the Cleveland Public Library. Ralph Buckner Funeral Home and Crematory is in charge of the arrangements.