Elizabeth D Keyes

Our beloved mother, Elizabeth “Betty” (DeHoust) Keyes, passed away peacefully on September 3, 2023, at the age of 83, of complications related to her long battle with dementia. Although she did not escape the many cruelties of this terrible disease, our Mom, true to her spirit, wrangled to maintain memories and independence while displaying glimmers of her humor, kindness, and love for family until the end. We are comforted to know she has joined our father George Peter “Pete” Keyes (1936-2009) in God’s loving arms.

Betty was born in Brooklyn, NY, on September 28, 1939, to Walter and Margaret (Mohr) DeHoust. She loved telling stories of childhood adventures, summer jobs, and growing up on Long Island with her siblings: Peggy (Terzi), Cathy (Ivins), Walter “Buddy,” and John. After graduating from Manhasset High School in 1957, she attended Endicott Junior College in Beverly, MA, graduating with honors in 1959. Soon after, Betty moved to Binghamton, NY, where she lived with cousin and beloved, lifelong friend, Joanne (Shilling). While working as a bank teller, if we are to believe Mom’s rendition of events, the most handsome yet balding man sailed over the teller counter, got down on one knee, and declared undying love. Dad remembered things a little differently, all but the love at first sight part. Pete and Betty married on July 18, 1964, and worked to successfully build a loving and supportive family. Early in their marriage, Mom and Dad met neighbors Frank and Connie Cardullo, who became steadfast, intimate friends and part of our extended family.

Betty was instinctively a caregiver, a tender teacher, and a devoted wife and mother. She was genuine and kind, taught us to surround ourselves with good people and, above all else, to be good people. We kept Mom on her toes as our champion, tutor, and chauffeur to lessons, practices, friend’s houses, and the mall. As our family CEO, CFO, and Director of Operations, Mom orchestrated countless sleepovers, parties, and our very own summer long Cayuga Lake “camp” activities, with months of no TV and baths in the lake. She was able to make picking fruit or painting a fence fun, while surreptitiously teaching us self-sufficiency and problem-solving.

Betty’s natural talents lead her to a successful career as a preschool teacher and founding director of St Thomas Aquinas Preschool, where she tried to celebrate each individual child. Involvement in her community and striving to help others were also integral parts of Betty’s life as a member of the Junior League and the Diocesan Commission on Women, as a volunteer at a local food pantry, or in the many big and small acts of kindness. Mom was an adventurous traveler, excellent cook, and avid sleuth, often able to predict the end of mystery novels, movies, and TV programs. As we grew, Mom seemed to fluidly move into a role of confidant and co-conspirator, ready with a kind word, while thoughtfully – and somewhat magically – rarely offering her opinion on our adult decisions.

After successfully seeing all three of us through our college and graduate school educations, Mom returned to school and earned a B.S in Applied Social Science, graduating Magna Cum Laude from SUNY-Binghamton in 2000. Betty excelled in the classroom and in life on a singular combination of brains and heart that the three of us have been honored, and humbled to inherit. With a canine companion always at her side, Betty enjoyed neighborhood walks, sitting outside in all but the most frigid weather, as well as her signature “couple of cigs” and a glass of wine. Over the last few years, we know Mom has held onto memories of her family and many friends, many childhood experiences, her life and work in Binghamton, and our summers on Cayuga Lake.

In 2015, Betty relocated to Catonsville, MD, to be closer to daughters Liz and Sheila and our families. She continued to be an ardent supporter of her grandchildren, both near and far, attending plays, performances, and soccer games in all kinds of crazy weather. She loved being with us to celebrate holidays, confirmations, graduations, and other special events for as long as she was able. Although we, her children, and likely some of her students, may remember her as gentle but firm with rules and expectations, her eight grandchildren knew only her adoring love in the form of bedtime (or anytime) stories, PB&Js with too much jelly, outdoor adventures of the messiest kind, and extraordinary material, experiential, and emotional gifts freely given. In early 2020, we made the difficult but life-extending decision to move Mom into a dementia care facility, where she lived out her days enjoying pet chickens and finches, regular visits from family, and exceptional care.

Betty is survived by her three children, Elizabeth (Liz) Keyes Ehrman, her husband Charles (Chuck), and their children Clara, Patrick and Adele; Sheila Keyes, her husband Kelly Houlgate, and their children Liam, Aidan, and Fiona; Brendan Keyes, his wife Jennifer, and their children Brady and McKenna; as well as her four loving brothers and sisters and many special friends and extended family. Funeral services will be held St. Agnes Catholic Church, Baltimore, MD, on October 20,2023; visitation will be at 10am followed by a Funeral Mass at 11am. Interment will follow at a later date in Binghamton, NY. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Mom’s House, Johnson City, NY at 770 Harry L Drive, Johnson City, NY 13790, or online at www.momshouseny.org.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.sterlingashtonschwabwitzke.com for the Keyes family.