Betty Jeane Carlson

A Chapter in our lives with our Dear Friend and Beloved Betty (Stella) Carlson has come to a close. The Longtime chairman & coordinator of “All Gods children shall have shoes” passed away quietly Sunday, January 22, 2017.

She dedicated over 17 years to making sure the needy children of the area had shoes. Starting the 1st week in November each year, she contacted 15 area Elementary schools, which included Aroma Park, Bradley, Bourbonnais and Kankakee. Providing shoes for Pre-K thru 4th grades. She and the volunteers from Ameritech Telephone Pioneers would take the children to the store where the children would get to pick out the pair of shoes they wanted, then they would bring the children back to their school wearing their new shoes along with a new pair of socks and a candy bar. She enjoyed the kids and they would tell stories of different events they had in their lives. The Ameritech Telephone Pioneers (Betty one of them) would accomplish this over 3 school days, usually providing over 120 children in the community with shoes.The last year she had done this she and the Ameritech Pioneers had provided 130 children with shoes, which they had made 73 trips back and forth from schools to store and back to schools again. They would raise the money each year by having a “Pizza Night” where they would wait on tables, wash dishes and sell tickets at a local pizza establishment. Another time during the year they would work at the Kankakee County Fair by working at the entrance gate selling tickets. They would do this each year to provide the children with shoes.

She spent 44 plus years working at the local Illinois Bell Telephone Company in operator services and had become wire chief clerk & secretary when she retired in 1982. Also over 30 years she was Treasurer for the Kankakee Bell Credit Union Board and she spent MANY nights at home doing the books and making out the statements for the members.

Betty was involved in so many volunteer services over her lifetime which also included delivering “Meals on Wheels” for over 14 years; working for the Salvation Army doing taxes and helping serve at the Salvation Army Sunday dinners. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, being President of Presbyterian Women, Chairman of Memorial Committee, Member of Stewardship and Finance Committee, Member of Evangelism & Mission committee which she had been past chairman, Secretary & Treasurer of a church circle, Chairman of Rummage & Bake Sale (which they had twice a year for the church); plus she was Chairman at Christmas for needy food baskets 12 years, Ameritech Telephone Pioneers which she served as secretary/treasurer. She belonged to the Epsilon Sigma Alpha Sorority, Kankakee Needleworkers Guild, Charter member of the Jr Women’s Club, K3 Heart Assoc., on the board of the American Cancer Society. She had been awarded the Alice Weeks Achievement award which annually goes to a Junior Women’s Club member cited for being outstanding in club, community and church.

She loved to travel and had been to England, Europe, Alaska, Canada and most of the states here in the US. When she had traveled to Europe her trips included visiting family in Switzerland and Italy, a trip to Germany to visit the Hummel factory, which she enjoyed collecting her Hummel figurines. She was an avid golfer and skier.

The last one of five children of Silver Stella and Helene (Cuendet) Stella, her father a builder and her mother who passed when Betty was 4 years old. So her Aunt Eugenie (Cuendet) Stella came and raised the children and became their mother. She was the last surviving of her siblings, Leo Stella, Col. Harry Stella (of the famous Army/Navy game), Charlotte (Stella) Hendrickson, and Melba (Babe) Stella. She had several nieces, nephews and cousins. She married Robert H. Carlson on February 27, 1981 who passed away February 4, 1992.

Born and raised in Kankakee she dedicated a lot of hours of her 90 years of life helping others and volunteering in the community. She had said, “There simply aren’t enough hours in a day for a person to help others as much as I would like”. But she SURE did do her part!

A memorial service in Kankakee and a burial in Monett, MO will be held at a later time in the Spring. Betty touched so many peoples lives and will be Greatly missed.