Elizabeth Himel Killeen

Elizabeth (“Betty”) Himel Killeen died peacefully on Thursday morning, March 7, 2024. She was 87. Born in New Orleans on July 3, 1936, Betty was preceded in death by her parents, Warren J. Himel and Ellen Dugas Himel; her loving husband of 58 years, Robert (“Bobby”) Joseph Killeen, and her granddaughter, Victoria Elizabeth Raffray. She is survived by her children, Katherine Brady Killeen Raffray (“Olivier”) and Robert J. Killeen Jr. (“Karen”); and her beloved grandchildren, Kade and Kara Grace Killeen and Alexandre and Philip Raffray.

Betty was raised in Uptown New Orleans and graduated from Dominican High School in 1954 as Student Body president. She attended Newcomb College. Betty and Bobby were married on April 4, 1959. Betty was employed in the fashion industry and as a model throughout the 1960’s delved into the arts (concentrating on her first love – New Orleans) as an avid supporter of the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Cabildo Museum, the Historic New Orleans Collection, the Fine Arts Club, and Entre Nous Book Club. Her keen interest in the city she loved segued into acting as a tour guide of New Orleans and near-by plantations. Betty provided invaluable services to the New Orleans Collection for an enviable 39 years.

She was an active member of the Orleans Club and the Southern Yacht Club where she was Queen of the Bards of the Bilges. And no one loved Mardi Gras and the Carnival balls more than Betty. She shall be greatly missed by those organizations fortunate enough to have counted her as a member or supporter.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend the Funeral Mass in the chapel of Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. in New Orleans, on Friday, March 15, 2024 at 12:00PM. A visitation will be held at the funeral home beginning at 9:30AM. A private burial will follow in Metairie Cemetery. There will be a Celebration of Life at the Southern Yacht Club, 105 N Roadway Street New Orleans, 70124 from 1:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that those seeking a way to honor Betty’s name consider donations in her name to any of the following: New Orleans Museum of Art; The Cabildo Museum; The Historic New Orleans Collection; or a local charity of your choice.

To view and sign the online guest book, please visit www.lakelawnmetairie.com