Betil "Betty" Berkman Kelekci

Betil (“Betty”) Berkman Kelekci - beloved daughter, mother and grandmother - passed away suddenly on Wednesday, August 5th. She was adored by all of her family and friends and will be deeply missed. Those she leaves behind take comfort in the long and wonderful life she lived.

Betty was born to Tahsin and Nilufer Berkman in Ankara, Turkey in 1938. She was an only child and because her father was a General in the Turkish Army they moved to several countries during her younger years. Two of the most favorite places she lived were Paris and London. For High school she attended Ankara College where she served as President of the Student Body her Senior year in 1956. Post graduation she studied to become a Journalist and became a Foreign Correspondent for one of the Turkish news agencies.

In 1961 she met and married her lifetime love, Hasan Kelekci. Theirs was a whirlwind courtship of only two months that bloomed into a 61 year marriage. A few years into their marriage the couple had two sons, Ali and then Sedat. Because Hasan was a Civil Engineer with a US Airforce company (The Tumpane Company), the family moved around often. They lived in many interesting places such as Istanbul, Riyad, Los Angeles, and Tirrenia (Italy). They finally settled permanently in Marietta, Georgia in 1973.

During their retirement years, Betty and Hasan continued to travel both domestically and internationally, but their greatest retirement joy was the birth of their three granddaughters. From then on, Betty was known as “Gigi” and she spent many years being actively involved with all three of her precious girls.

Hasan passed away in 2022 and Betty was forced to carve out a new life for herself. A year or so after his passing she moved to St. Anne’s Terrace with a few dear friends and continued to add to her repertoire of friends by staying active with a wide variety of what the retirement home had to offer. Gigi was extremely social and loved playing games. She belonged to several groups that played bridge, mahjong and bingo. She also was a member of a book club, a knitting club and loved to go out to eat and attend theatre productions. One of Betty’s final joys in life was meeting and spending time with her first two great

grandchildren. Nothing would bring a bigger smile to her face than looking at photos and videos of her great-grandson and her great-granddaughter.

Betty is survived by her two sons, Ali (Madolyn) and Sedat; granddaughters, Laura Merritt (Tyler), Holly More (Richi) and Grace Sever (David) and great-grandchildren, Perry Merritt and Milli More.

The family will be having a private burial but is accepting visitors on Saturday, August 8th from 2:00pm - 3:30pm at Sandy Springs Chapel, 136 Mt. Vernon Highway, Sandy Springs, GA 30328