Elizabeth Rose Phelan

Elizabeth Rose “Bette” Phelan, age 85, passed away peacefully in her home in Colleyville on July 5. Service: 1 pm Wednesday at St. Michael Catholic Church, Bedford. Friends are cordially invited to gather and share remembrances 4-7 pm and a Rosary Service at 6 pm Tuesday at Bluebonnet Hills Memorial Chapel. Bette will be laid to rest in Bluebonnet Hills Memorial Park. Memorials: Donations in Bette's memory may be made to a charity of one's choice. Bette was born on October 18, 1928, in Detroit Michigan, the daughter of Henry and Dorothy VanLerberghe. She graduated from Dominican High School in Detroit in 1946 and earned her Registered Nurse diploma in 1949 from Mercy College in Detroit. She worked as a hospital-based nurse for five years before marrying A.J. Phelan, MD in Romeo, Michigan, on June 26, 1954. They had two sons and four daughters, all of whom were born in Tecumseh, Michigan, where Dr. Phelan practiced as a physician and surgeon. They later moved to Lansing, Michigan, in 1971 and eventually retired to Colleyville, Texas, in 1994. A very talented artist, Bette generously shared her paintings and personally crafted cards with her family and friends. She attended daily mass at St. Michael Catholic Church in Bedford and loved to work jigsaw puzzles and read. She was a faithful volunteer at the Delta Township District Library, where the Bette Phelan Award was established in her honor to recognize outstanding library volunteers. She was preceded in death by her parents, daughter Jane Elizabeth, and sisters Mary, Dorothy, Patricia, and Joan. Bette is survived by her loving family: her husband of 60 years - Dr. A.J. Phelan; five children – James (Kim) Phelan of Colleyville, Texas, Anne (Greg) Skuta of Edmond, Oklahoma, Karen (Larry) Tuccio of Dallas, Texas, Mark (Kim) Phelan, MD, of Abilene, Texas, and Amy (Jeff) Nottingham of Euless, Texas; and eleven grandchildren – Andrew Phelan, Jonathan Skuta, Catherine Skuta, Matthew Skuta, Sara Tuccio, Erik Tuccio, Samuel Phelan, Alix Phelan, Jack Phelan, Joshua Nottingham, and Justin Nottingham. Bette loved, was loved, raised her children well, and greatly and positively impacted the lives of those she touched. We will miss her and her optimistic spirit and radiant smile but will always treasure and remember her as a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, and friend.