Bette Zinser Keenan of Danbury passed away peacefully at Maplewood of Stony Hill on May 10, 2019. She was born in the family home on Westville Ave. to Henry and Isabel (Mignerey) Zinser. Bette was predeceased by her husband of 53 years, Lt. Thomas E, Keenan, Jr. of the Danbury Police Department.
Her daughter Cynthia Williams and her husband James of Rancho Mirage, CA, her daughter Kathleen Keenan of Danbury and her son Thomas Edward Keenan, III and his wife Debra of Danbury, survive her. She is also survived by grandchildren, Colleen Cyr of Danbury, Meredith Hiltgen and her husband Daniel of Los Altos, CA and Amanda Banker and her husband Michael of San Jose, CA. Five great-grandchildren, Joe and Julia Cyr, Natalie and Kyle Hiltgen and Mason Baker, also survive her. She is survived by her sister Millicent Morrison and her husband John of Brookfield, as well as many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents and her brother, Raymond Zinser and her sister Marilyn Moody.
Bette graduated from Danbury High School class of 1940 at the top of her class at the age of 16. Her dream was to become a nurse. As nursing school did not accept students until age of 18, she went to work at Barden Bearings Company. With the advent of WWII, she remained working at Bardens through the end of the war and then married her sweetheart and started her family. For many years she was employed as a waitress at the Spinning Wheel Inn in Redding, CT.
She was a life-long member of the First Congregational Church in Danbury and was very active in the church. Many of her happiest days were spent at her cottage at South Dennis on Cape Cod. She loved having the grandchildren visit and share her love of walking the beaches and sandbars and exploring the Cape. She made beautifully embroidered Christmas ornaments for family and friends which have become treasured family heirlooms. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren carry on her tradition of making candy cane cookies at Christmas.
We wish to thank the staff at Maplewood for their care of Mom the last six years and the Staff from Regional Hospice for their care her last weeks.
A Funeral Service will be held at 11am on Friday, May 17, 2019 at the First Congregational Church of Danbury, 164 Deer Hill Avenue, Danbury, CT. Interment will follow at the family plot in Wooster Cemetery, Danbury, CT.
There are no calling hours.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the First Congregational Church in Bette’s name.
