Betty Lue Champion

Betty Lue Champion (Burry) was born on July 12th, 1926 in Lyons Ohio to her parents Roy and Pearl (Burry). She lived with her parents and grandmother Lela Wood in Lyons. She talked about the time when she was ten years old and her father worked for the state governor. Between 1936-1940 Betty and her mother would spend one month during the summer in Columbus Ohio. One day she was allowed to sit in the governor’s chair in the State Capitol! However, her friends would never believe her. While in high-school, she worked as a telephone operator during the Great Depression. She always mentioned that she only earned 13 cents per hour.

 In 1944 after graduating from Lyons High School, she enrolled at Bowling Green State University. Betty received a Bachelors degree in elementary education from BGSU in 1948. After college, she began teaching in Monroe Michigan and later Sylvania Ohio.

 In 1952 she married Clare Champion from Metamora Ohio. They moved to Adrian Michigan and both taught school for Madison School district. They then went on to have their first child Jeff in 1956 and three years later Mary Ellen. In 1957 they moved back to the family farm in Metamora. Every year Betty spent summers with her family and extended family on the shores of Lake Superior. It was 1959 when they built the cabin at Alona Bay. Spending quality time with those she loved was one of her most treasured memories. In 1999 they relocated to Glendale Arizona, returning to the Burry family home in Lyons Ohio for the summer months.

Betty loved connecting with people and always put others before herself. She was always willing to help others and expressed compassion and warmth to everyone around her. She was devoted to her family and committed to attending church. Today’s hymns were amongst her favorites. To all who knew her, Betty was truly a gentle soul. She tenderly shared the enduring love of Christ by including these words in her correspondences with others:

 When the child of God

 Looks into the Word of God

 And sees the Son of God

 He is changed by the Spirit of God

 In the Image of God

 For the Glory of God

 She is survived by: Her son, Jeff (Trudy), daughter Mary Ellen (John Leppa) Her Grandchildren, Christie (Derrick Richards), Eric, Scott, Kaitlyn (Freddy Bedolla) And Her Great Grandchildren: Lexi, Mya, Jackson, Evelynn, Jolynn, Hudson. In addition to her parents and husband Clare she was preceded in death by her brothers-in-law Woody Lee and William Champion.

Visitation will be held Saturday, October 7th from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the Weigel Funeral Home in Metamora, where services will begin at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow at Amboy Township Cemetery.