"Betty" was born in Derby, CT to Marie and William Keller in 1920, and grew up in Schenectady, NY, graduating from Nott Terrace High School and the Mildred Elly Business School. She moved to Syracuse NY in 1945 where she met and in 1948 married Lada Joseph Zahora. She lived in DeWitt, NY from 1959 to 2005 before moving to the Charlotte, NC area and then finally to Concord, NH in 2016. Betty worked for the General Electric Company in both Schenectady and Syracuse, NY, and from 1968-1989 she was a part-time stenographer/typist/secretary at Syracuse University.
Betty was a long time member of the Church of Christ, Scientist, which gave her great comfort throughout her life. She was very active in the central New York area with several environmental organizations and served on environmental committees for Onondaga County and the Town of DeWitt, and was an early advocate for recycling and composting. Over her life Betty enjoyed ice skating, gardening, square dancing, downhill and cross-country skiing, hiking, taking long walks and traveling across the country, especially to visit family.
Betty's husband Joseph preceded her in death in 1994. She is survived by three sons, Robert of Burlington, MA, Kenneth of Livermore, CA, Andrew of Harrisburg, NC and a daughter Karen Commins of Tetonia, ID. Betty has five grandchildren and a great-grand child.
The family requests that any charitable donations in her memory be given to the First Church of Christ, Scientist (Boston, MA) or an environmental organization of their choice.
Interment will be in Memory's Garden, Colonie, NY.
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