Betty Lou Lappalainen

Mrs. Lappalainen was born May 11, 1928, in Manchester, Ohio, daughter of Hanley and Mildred Hughes. She moved with her husband, Burdette Vanscoy, and children from Ohio to Florida in 1963 and remained in central Florida the rest of her life.

Mrs. Lappalainen was a civil servant throughout her career retiring in 1989 from her many years of service as an administrative assistant at NASA in the Space Vehicle Safety Branch.

After retiring, Betty became a member of the Conway United Methodist Church in Orlando where she volunteered sharing her administrative skills. She also enjoyed volunteering with the Read to Succeed program of the public schools. These years were also spent traveling with friends and lovingly caring for her granddaughters during their frequent visits.

Betty was married to Burdette Vanscoy in 1945. They celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in Ohio with their children; Jennifer, Brenda, & Fred, along with family and life-long friends who hosted a party. Sadly, months afterwards, Burdette passed unexpectedly. Later, Betty married Heimo “Hank” Lappalainen. They enjoyed raising children and later welcoming grandchildren to the family. Hank passed away in 1994. In her senior years, Betty met and became a dear friend of Ramon Forst of Rockledge. They enjoyed sharing time together reminiscing of work years at the Cape, sharing a love of music and gatherings with family.

Betty had a great love for her children and granddaughters and she nurtured them dearly. Betty is survived by children; Jennifer and son-in-law, Byron Uppercue, Brenda Friend and Fred Vanscoy.

Betty’s granddaughters; Andrea Fischer and Jennifer (Fischer) Benigno, Jordyn Vanscoy, and Katie Uppercue will greatly miss her loving attention, as will her great-grandson, Timmy Mills and great-granddaughter, Olivia Benigno.

Betty is also survived by sister, Mrs. Carol Ann (Walter) Boggs, of Clinton, TN.

Betty is predeceased in death by her parents, Mildred and Hanley Hughes as well as brothers, Burgett, Robert, David, Donald, and sisters, Naomi and Lulabelle.

A celebration of life will be held at Brevard Memorial Funeral Home located at: 5475 North US Highway 1, Cocoa, FL 32927 on Saturday, June 12th. Visitation with family is at 12:00. Service will be from 1:00 to 2:00 followed by graveside service.

Memorial contributions may be made to The William Childs Hospice House of Palm Bay.