Betty Ficke

Betty Ficke, age 96, of Mentor, OH, passed away on June 17, 2026, at her residence. Betty was born on September 18, 1929, in Honolulu, HI, to Lucio & Ah Moi along with her identical twin sister, Dorothy. At the age of 12, Betty and her family survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, which created her love of Pearl Harbor documentaries that she shared with her son-in-law. At 18, Betty left the islands and moved to California and became a lounge singer when she followed the love of her life, who was stationed there in the Navy. Aside from raising four wonderful children, she retired from the Mentor School District after 25+ years of service as an Administrative Assistant. After retirement, she enjoyed working part-time as an usher for the Cleveland Indians for 4 years. Betty and Chuck enjoyed countless years of permanent weekend camping in Geneva along with traveling the country in their motor home. Betty enjoyed staying busy and went back to work for Walmart in the customer service department for 10 years. Her favorite things to do were shopping, thrifting, and going to garage sales. She treasured her time as Mom, Grandma, Great-Grandma and recently Great-Great-Grandma. Betty was the heart of our family and a role model in every sense of the word. We couldn’t have asked for a better example of love, resilience, and generosity. Her memory will live on in every life she touched, and her influence will continue to guide and inspire us for generations to come to “Be like Betty.” She has now been reunited with her cherished husband of 63 years. Chuck and Betty together again after years apart, now walking hand in hand on a white sandy beach in Hawai’i. She is survived by her daughters, Jennifer (Bruce) Worful and Jeanine Jones; grandchildren, Brian (Jamie) Eckliff, Matt (Vanessa) Eckliff, Stefanie (Tom) Laurenzi, Steven (Chelsea) Jones, Jefrey Ficke, Caitlen Epperson, Cailey (Calvin) Hannible and Jared (Matthew Meisel) Worful; great-grandchildren, Alexis (Jonathan), Mackenzie, Ryan, Gabby and Bella, Mia and Mariah, Milo and Addie; great-great-grandchild, Samantha; sons-in-law, Steve Jones and Mike Epperson; daughter-in-law, Therese (Ron) Mazurik; and other loving family. She was preceded in death by her husband, Charles H. Ficke; son, Jeff “Turk” Ficke; daughter, Jerilyn Epperson; granddaughter, Shannon Eckliff; parents, Lucio Lucas and Ah Moi Awai and sisters, Mabel, Dorothy, and Gladys. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 24, 2026 at Brunner Sanden Deitrick Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 8466 Mentor Ave., Mentor, OH 44060. The family will receive friends from 4-8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 23, 2026 at the funeral home. Interment will be in Western Reserve Memorial Gardens, Chesterland, OH. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Reserve Care Hospice, P.O. Box 72700, Cleveland, OH 44192 or online at www.hospicewr.org Offer condolences at www.brunners.com

Betty Ficke

September 18, 1929 - June 17, 2026