Betty Mae Compton

WEST PEORIA ~ Born Betty Mae Stisser on July 15, 1927, in Peoria, Illinois, she was the daughter of Lester Charles and Irene Lillian (Gearhart) Stisser. Her son affectionately nicknamed her “Murt.” She passed away on February 13, 2025, in Batavia, Illinois, at age 97.

Betty attended a one room grade school known as the Stark School near Stark, Stark County, Illinois. She graduated at age 12 on May 10, 1940. She then attended the Wyoming Community High School in Wyoming, Illinois. While there, her significant activities included band – solo trumpet and marching, Home Economics Club and Drama Club. She graduated on May 5, 1944, at age 16.

Betty always said the week after she graduated she caught the bus for Peoria and never looked back. She attended the Liberty School of Beauty Culture there, graduating September 18, 1946, with a license to practice cosmetology. She worked for a brief time at the P. A. Bergner beauty salon on the third floor of their downtown Peoria store.

Betty then worked at Armour and company in Peoria, where she met her future husband, Raymond “Ray” Joseph Compton. She worked in the office running the teletype. Ray worked in the plant. They were married on October 5, 1947, in Peoria Heights, Illinois. Ray’s sister, Dorothy Marie (Compton) Wendland, and her husband, Robert Wendland, stood up with them at their ceremony. It was also the Wendland’s first anniversary.

The couple first lived at 109 Faber Avenue in Peoria Heights. They later bought an orchard in West Peoria where they built a four room house. This house later became the garage when they built the main house next door and connected them with a breezeway (1954). This eventually became known as 2800 West Nebraska Avenue. They sold this property in 1992 and moved to Mesa, Arizona.

Betty left the labor market to raise her children in 1953. By 1963, she began working for the Peoria School Board as a secretary. Having donated extensive time to her children’s school (Sterling), she felt she may as well get paid for it! During her tenure with the school board, she worked as a secretary at Douglas Grade School, Roosevelt Junior High School (later a special education school) and Mark Bill’s Grade School from its opening in 1977 until December of 1985 when she retired.

Betty and Ray enjoyed square and ballroom dancing for many years. They also camped in RV trailers around the United States. Betty enjoyed her bunko club, bingo, swimming and talking with friends.

From 1985 until 1992, Betty and Ray wintered in Mesa, Arizona, at Silveridge RV Resort. In 1992, they moved there full-time. While in Mesa, Betty enjoyed painting clothing/material, serving as a travel guide for Especially 4 You Travel, billiards and playing lots of bingo! Her Mesa friends became an extended family for her – celebrating and weathering life together, enjoying “block parties” and eating out. She watched dozens of people’s homes every summer and watered their plants – well into her 80’s. Betty also called Bingo at Silveridge for many years. She liked antiques and was a charter member of the Tea Leaf Club International. She and Ray returned to Peoria for summers in an RV for many years.

They later moved to Castillo Nuevo in Mesa for the last several years they were there.

In 2017 at age 90, Betty fractured her hip and moved to Batavia, Illinois, to be closer to her son. She resided at Heritage Woods. After fracturing her femur in 2022, she moved to skilled nursing (Michealsens of Batavia) at age 95.

Betty will be remembered for her quirky (often off-color) sayings, stories to get people to laugh and signature smile. Since her father was 51 when she was born and his father was 47 when he was born, she would have heard many sayings growing up that were no longer in wide-spread use.

Betty was predeceased by her parents, her husband Ray, and a half-sister, Ethel Deane (Stisser) (Fritz) Silliman. She is survived by her daughter, Linda Rodriguez, of Seminole, Florida, and her son, Michael (Marie) Compton of Geneva, IL.

Her funeral will be at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 19, 2025 at Preston-Hanley Funeral Homes & Crematory in Pekin. Pastor Judy Doyle will officiate. Visitation will be one hour before the funeral. Burial will be at Swan Lake Memory Gardens in Peoria with her husband, Ray.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Red Cross.

To express condolences online, visit www.preston-hanley.com