Elizabeth D. Reilley

A Mass of Christian Burial for Elizabeth “Betty” Reilley will be held Saturday, February 23, 2019 at 9:00 A.M. at the Church of St. Edward the Confessor, 785 Newark-Granville Rd., Granville with Msgr. Paul P. Enke as celebrant.   Private burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.  The family will receive friends Friday, February 22, 2019 from 6-8:00 P.M. at the McPeek-Hoekstra Funeral Home, 133 S. Prospect St., in Granville.

Elizabeth “Betty” Reilley, formerly of Granville and Cleveland Heights, OH, passed away at the age of 101 in Newark on February 19, 2019.  She was a resident of Granville since 1989 and lived at The Inn @ Chapel Grove in Heath since 2014.

Betty was born Elizabeth Dolores Schmidt on July 28, 1917 to the late Elizabeth (Scherer) and Frank Schmidt in Cleveland, OH.  Later she took her stepfather’s last name, “Holmes”.  She was the Valedictorian of her graduating class at Glenville High School, and was awarded a scholarship to Ursuline College.

She became a secretary at St. Alexis Hospital School of Nursing. Later, she was Assistant Registrar at John Carroll University in Cleveland.  For many years she served as secretary to her husband, Dr. Edward C. Reilley (John Carroll University, History/Business, 1935-75).  She was an active member of the JCU Faculty Wives Club throughout and beyond her husband’s tenure at the University.

Betty was a Girl Scout.  In high school, she became a “Gold Award” Girl Scout.  As an adult, Betty spent 25 more years in Girl Scouting.  She won the highest award for adult volunteers, the “Thanks Badge” presented to her by the Lake Erie Girl Scout Council.  In 1962, she served as “Official Hostess” at the Girl Scout International Roundup in Vermont.

Betty served as a caregiver for over 20 infants and small children.  She volunteered at Licking Memorial Hospital, St. Francis de Sales School Library, and at the Granville kindergarten, tutoring and helping, all the way into her nineties.  At times, she was called upon to speak to children in area schools about the Great Depression and life during World War II.  She wore her original Girl Scout Uniform and waved as Grand Marshal in Granville’s 2009 Fourth of July parade.

Betty is survived by three daughters, Patricia Forman, M.D. of Columbus, OH, Michelle (Stanley) Polins of Houston, TX, and Mary Beth (William) Hagstad of Granville; four grandchildren, Edward Forman, Esq., Mary Wood Forman, and Charles Forman, M.D. of Columbus, and Benjamin Hagstad of Granville; and three great-grandchildren, Harriet Rose, James Reilley, and Mae Elizabeth Forman of Columbus.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to a charity of choice.

Online condolences may be expressed at www.mcpeekhoekstra.com.

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