Betty Lou (Kilbane) Behnke, age 87, of McKean, passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 16, 2023, following a short illness. She was born January 23, 1936, in Erie, the daughter of Kenneth and Ella (Zimmer) Kilbane.

She was an exemplary daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, and friend. She was happily married to the love of her life, her late husband Duane “Dewey”, whom she married July 9, 1955. They were true soulmates who shared a very special love for one another. Betty Lou also loved her family, friends, and the Lord beyond measure. She led a wonderful life, devoting herself to making a loving home. The matriarch of her family, she was strong when no one else could find the strength.

Her roots were deep in the McKean community, where she and Dewey had the Nationwide Insurance Agency for over 30 years. She was a longtime active member of McLane Church.

Betty Lou will be remembered for her kind-hearted soul and her love for Jesus. When those she loved felt their flaws, she saw the good in them; when they struggled with their mistakes, she made them into life lessons. She had a way of making others feel right at home no matter where they were. Betty Lou enjoyed playing cards with her friends, bus trips to Salamanca, and her flowers.

To her grandchildren, Betty Lou was “Gigi”, and for the past 16 years she enjoyed an extra special relationship with her 6 great-grandchildren. She leaves her family with hearts full of memories to cherish, and lessons that are engraved in them for a lifetime.

Besides her parents and her husband, she was preceded in death by a sister, Lois Clapper.

Surviving is her daughter Lisa Sheets and her husband Douglas, of Meadville; her son Kenny and his wife Carrie, of McKean; 3 grandchildren – Bob Sheets and his wife Lacey, Ashley Behnke Stafford and her husband Andy, and Courtney Behnke; and 6 great-grandchildren – Carter and Lorelei Sheets, Izzie and Chase Behnke, and Averie and Brewer Stafford.

She also leaves behind her Monday night bingo family, her Tuesday quilting ladies, and her church ladies who met on Wednesdays.

Friends may call at Van Matre Funeral Home in Edinboro on Sunday from 2-6 pm and are invited to the funeral service following at 6 pm, officiated by Rev. Brian Kelly of McLane Church. Per her wishes, the committal service and burial will be private at Dunn Valley Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to McLane Church, 12511 Edinboro Road, Edinboro