Bette Virginia McElravy McCloskey
Bette Virginia McElravy McCloskey, 91, passed away peacefully Monday at Otterbein Cridersville retirement center, Ohio, of natural causes.
She was born on June 29, 1922, in Sligo Township to William and Edna (Hackbarth) McElravy. She was one of 12 brothers and sisters.
On Dec. 1, 1950, she married Henry T. McCloskey at the St. Eusebius Catholic Church, East Brady, in the middle of the famous “Snow Bowl” snowstorm of that year. They were married 55 years when he passed away in November of 2005.
She is survived by her daughters, Peg (Dan) Castagno of Pickerington, Ohio, and Pat (Ty) Koenig of Los Angeles, Calif., and her four grandchildren, Chris and Caitlin Castagno of Pickerington, Ohio, Katherine Koenig of Los Angeles, Calif., and Matthew Koenig, currently in California. She is also survived by her brother, Robert McElravy of Chicora; her sister, Charlotte Kloker of Karns City and her sister Phyllis Wigdon of Phoenix, Ariz.
Bette was a 1940 graduate of Karns City High School.
During World War II she worked at the local office of the Price Administration, also known as the rationing board. After the war, she was the local school secretary for several years. She then married Harry, and they made their home in Cleveland, Ohio, where she also worked for several years for the Department of the Naval Reserve.
In 1969, they moved to Cridersville, Ohio, when Harry accepted a job transfer to the former Sohio Refinery in Lima, Ohio.
They enjoyed the Cridersville community where they had many friends. Bette's primary focus was always her family, and she was a wonderful homemaker, cook and baker of bread and ginger cookies. She was very active in the Cridersville United Methodist Church, where she was a member for 44 years. Bette was an avid Cincinnati Reds fan and enjoyed trips to the former Riverfront stadium. She rarely missed a “Reds on Radio” broadcast.
She was also an active member of the Wapakoneta Senior Citizens Association. Always proud of her Irish heritage, she enjoyed the Otterbein St. Patrick's Day celebrations, and she and Harry traveled to Ireland in 1985 as the first of their family to travel to their ancestral homeland.
McCloskey — The visitation for Bette Virginia McElravy McCloskey, who passed away peacefully Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, will be at the Karns City United Methodist Church, 117 Petrolia St., Karns City, from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday. The memorial service will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday at the church.The funeral arrangements were entrusted to the Bayliff and Son Funeral Home, Cridersville, Ohio.Memorial contributions may be made to the Karns City United Methodist Church, 117 Petrolia St., Karns City, PA 16041; the Otterbein-Cridersville, 100 Red Oak Drive, Cridersville, Ohio 45806, or the Cridersville United Methodist Church, 105 Shawnee Road, Cridersville, Ohio 45806.Condolences may be shared at www.BayliffAndSon.comArrangements are by Bayliff & Son Funeral Home, Cridersville, Ohio.
