Memorials › Elizabeth Louise “Betty” Gregorius McCray

Elizabeth Louise “Betty” Gregorius McCray

30 Jun 1914 – 18 Feb 2017

Birth30 Jun 1914
Death18 Feb 2017
CemeterySaint Bonaventure Cemetery
Columbus , Platte County , Nebraska , USA
Added byLizzie on 12 Feb 2020
FaGhttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/207051284

Bio

Elizabeth McCray Obituary SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - Elizabeth Louise McCray (nee Gregorius), known as "Betty," died Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017, at Sunshine Villa in Santa Cruz, California. She was 102. The youngest of four children of Elizabeth "Lizzy" Farley and William Gregorius, Betty was born in Columbus on June 30, 1914. After graduating from St. Bonaventure High School in 1932, Betty worked for over four years at The Columbus Telegram as a proofreader, stenographer and reporter. She qualified for the National Civil Service in 1938, and made the bold move from the Midwest to Washington, D.C., where she found employment with the Social Security Administration. In 1940, she moved to Alameda, California, to work for the Civil Aeronautics Authority and two years later transferred to the Directorate of Flying Safety for the War Department. Betty resigned from her job in 1943 to marry the love of her life, Army Air Force 2nd Lieutenant Thomas McCray. Tom was her youngest brother's best friend from Columbus. Tom and Betty relocated to southern California, where Lt. McCray's unit, the 479th fighter group, was training at Santa Ana Airbase. The newlyweds shared lodging with another young officer couple on Lido Isle in Newport Beach. In early 1944, World War II separated Tom and Betty. Betty, now pregnant, returned to Columbus to live with her brother's family when Tom shipped out to a combat base in England. Betty gave birth to her first son, Thomas William, on June 20, 1944. The family was reunited in early 1946 and moved to Long Beach. Her younger son, Robert Berlien, was born on July 27, 1949. In 1960, Betty returned to work as the executive secretary of the Long Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau. Tom and Betty took the first of their numerous trips to Europe in 1969. They moved to their ocean-view condominium in San Clemente in 1977. Tom and Betty spent the next 25 years traveling around the country, and devoting their spare time in San Clemente to serious golfing. Betty posted a certified hole-in-one at age 79 (matching the one Tom made at the young age of 69). Tom and Betty also pursued continuous and inspiring partying with their friends. Tom died in October 2015, at the age of 103, and Betty relocated for the last time in February 2016 to Sunshine Villa in Santa Cruz, where she lived near her oldest son and her three favorite nieces. A beautiful woman inside and out, she was deeply loved by all her family members and, by all accounts, was one of the most popular residents in the Villa. Betty is survived by her sons, Thomas William McCray of Moss Landing, California, and Robert Berlien McCray of Truckee, California, along with three adored grandchildren, Ryder McCray, Kathleen McCray and Glenna McCray. She is also survived by her much-loved nieces Jane Gregorius, Michele Beard and Mary Neater, and Michele's children Koren and Jonathan and Mary's children Sunny and Zach. Betty's beloved brothers, Walt, Bill and Jim, predeceased her. A memorial Mass will be held in Betty's honor on Saturday, April 29, at the Villa Maria Del Mar at 21918 East Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz. In lieu of flowers, donations in Betty's memory may be made to Catholic Relief Services or Friends of Columbus Public Library.

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