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(Enjoyed Attending Bryan City Band Concerts)
Betty Lou Starr McKarns passed away peacefully on Oct. 3, 2026, in Bryan, Ohio. At 100 years old, Betty had a long, active and fulfilling life.
Betty was delivered into this world on Dec. 5, 1925, by her uncle and, as her parents said, “just in time for her Saturday night bath.”
She was the sixth of the seven daughters (known as the Starr girls) of Oscar Warren and Sarah Leora Mann Starr.
Betty was an active student at Bryan High School, class of 1944, and put herself through one year at Bowling Green State University by working the summer after graduation at the Potawatomi Inn in Angola, Indiana.
At Bowling Green she was a member of the synchronized swim club and Delta Gamma sorority.
On July 12, 1945, Betty married William “Bill” McKarns, and when Bill passed away, they had been married for 76 years. Together they nurtured and encouraged four active children: Christine, William “Mic,” Jane and Thomas “Tom.”
Betty was confirmed in the Methodist church at around 12 years old and was active there until a few years before her death. She taught Sunday School, was a member of several circles, created a library and then continued as the volunteer church librarian for 38 years.
Betty was a wonderful and supportive mother and participated in her children’s lives in multiple ways, including sewing doll clothes and prom dresses, and knitting many mittens. She was a Cub Scout den mother and took her children fishing, swimming and to the library.
She cherished time with her family and shared her love of music, nature and gardening, and modeled kindness to others. Her unconditional love was her greatest gift to her children.
Betty was a community volunteer and for 19 years took books to the hospital for mothers of newborns and encouraged them to read to their children. For nearly 20 years she volunteered in the public schools, reading in the halls with first graders.
Betty was a good listener and easily made conversation with people of any age, showing her genuine interest in them. She was a compassionate woman and often took meals to family and friends who needed some comfort. She enjoyed playing bridge and going to City Band concerts.
She assisted her husband, Bill, as secretary in his real estate business until taking a job with the Bryan High School library for nine years, a job she loved! Betty was active in longstanding community groups, including her beloved Fortnightly Study Club.
Together with Bill and their friends Dorothy and Leonard Opdycke, she planted thousands of trees on their acreage in southern Michigan, which became a Certified Tree Farm. They entertained family and friends there with many picnics, swimming and fishing at the pond.
Betty and Bill traveled the country attending various educational forestry meetings and enjoyed traveling in general, which took them to nearly every state in the U.S. and many countries around the world.
Betty was preceded in death by her husband, Bill; her parents; siblings Beulah Jacquith, Hortense Meek, Doris Walton, Margaret Carlin, Naomi Lett and Patsy Light; son-in-law John Stockwell; grandson Zachary Wilson; and great-grandson Liam Sickles.
She will be dearly missed and always cherished in memory by her surviving family: children Christine Stockwell, William “Mic” (Jenni) McKarns, Jane (Jim) Fireovid and Thomas “Tom” (Lisa) McKarns; 11 grandchildren: Lara (Rich) Wilson, Andrea (Dell) Stockwell-Johnson, Daniel McKarns, Nathan (fiancée Kristin Caldwell) McKarns, Adam (Megan) McKarns, Jason (Mary) Fireovid, Emily (Mike) Hiriak, Katie (John) Willson, Kate (Michael) Sickles, Jack (Olivia) McKarns and Will McKarns; 20 great-grandchildren: Rhys (Aaron) Harrison, Cooper Bradford, Molly, Leah and Anna McKarns, Ava McKarns, Maeve, Rowan, Nolan and Wrenn McKarns, Kayla and Jenna Fireovid, Megan and Brandon Hiriak, Jacob and Sarah Willson, Eliza Sickles and Calvin McKarns; and one great-great-grandson: Mateo Schwarz-Useche.
The family wishes to give special thanks to the compassionate and devoted caregivers at Fountain Park Assisted Living and Elara Hospice. The family is especially grateful to a dear family friend, Joan Witzerman, who visited Betty often over the last several years and caringly helped her in many thoughtful ways.
Funeral services will be held Oct. 31, 2026, at Wesley United Methodist Church, 903 Center St., in Bryan, Ohio. Visitation will be at 10 a.m., the sanctuary service at 11 a.m. and a memorial luncheon at noon. The graveside service will be at 2 p.m. at Shiffler Cemetery. Arrangements are under the care of Oberlin-Turnbull Funeral Home, Bryan.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to Wesley United Methodist Church or to a charity of the donor’s choice. Condolences may be sent to the family, or memories may be shared at www.oberlinturnbull.com
