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Official Obituary of

Betty Jane (Eklund) Shaffer

September 3, 1923 ~ May 5, 2018 (age 94) 94 Years Old

Betty Shaffer Obituary

Betty Jane (Eklund) Shaffer, age 94, parted this earth to be with her Heavenly Father at 9:00 PM on Saturday, May 5, 2018 at her home outside of Kendallville. She was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on September 3, 1923 to parents Fred and Bessie (Cronk) Eklund. They preceded her in death. Betty was a “Rosie the Riveter” during WWII. She married Paul Edward Shaffer on November 7, 1943 in Rockford, Illinois. He preceded her in death on April 20, 2012. Betty was a very loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great grandmother. She was a strong woman having contracted polio in 1944 and still having and raising nine girls. Never did she consider herself “handicapped”. She didn’t ask for help when a task was hard but found a way to accomplish it. She taught great values and life lessons to her children and grandchildren. She was also a Girl Scout and 4-H leader.

She is survived by nine daughters including, Linda Stanton of Kendallville; Carolyn Nay of Fort Wayne; Janice (John) Mitchell of Garrett; Diane (Dick) Rhodes of Lagrange; Kathy (Jerry) West of Auburn; Anita (Dennis) Derringer of Fort Wayne; Darlene (Brent) Emerick of Noblesville; Gwendolyn Swogger of Kendallville; and Paula (Don) Hemphill of Belleview, Nebraska. She loved spending time with her 24 grandchildren, Paul Rigsby, Sandy Dressler, Louise Crago, Betty Sampson, Andrea Richardson, Erin Nay, Daniel Nay, Jeff Mitchell, Rachelle Haslett, Rita Keen, Dari West, Kevin West, Jennifer Roussel, Michael Derringer, Christina Brock, Joe Emerick, Martin Swogger, Katrina Weaver, Patrick Swogger, Anna Combs, Christopher Hemphill, Amber Patton, Timothy Hemphill, and Joshua Hemphill; 33 great grandchildren; and six great-great grandchildren. Also surviving is one sister, Melva Downen of Santa Ana, California.

She was also preceded in death by two sisters, Phyllis Johnson of Rockford, Illinois and Darlene Huff of Tampa, Florida; her grandson, Jacob Mitchell; two great grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.

As per her wishes, her remains were cremated and her ashes interred next to her beloved husband at Marion National Cemetery, Marion, Indiana. There are no services or visitation. Hite Funeral Home of Kendallville is in charge of the arrangements.

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