Betty McKray

MCKRAY, BOULTON, SCHROEDER, BURKE, SHINKLE, SHARP, BOSCOE, LEWAND, COLE

Posted By: Tara (email)
Date: 5/22/2009 at 15:44:55

Betty McKray, 87, of Oaknoll Retirement Resident in Iowa City, died peacefully on Veteran’s Day; Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at University of Iowa Hospitals following a short illness.

Betty was born on March 20, 1921 in Columbus Junction, IA, the daughter of Verne and Esther Boulton. She graduated from Columbus Junction High School in 1938 and received a BA in Economics from University of Iowa in 1942. During WWII she served in the Women’s Army Corp. Afterwards she went on to earn her MSW from the University of Chicago in 1950. Betty married George A. Schroeder in 1948 (George died in 1997) and went to work for the American Red Cross in Houston, Texas. She returned to Iowa City in 1959 and began to work for University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in multiple departments for over 27 years until she retired in 1985. In 1968, Betty married her second husband, Deane F. McKray, at Danforth Chapel, Iowa City. Deane owned and managed the Whiteway Grocery Store in downtown Iowa City for ten years.

Betty was a passionate and dedicated volunteer with numerous organizations. She was actively involved at Oaknoll Retirement Residence, serving as President of the Oaknoll Resident Council and a frequent author for the Oaknoll newsletter. She was a member of The Unitarian Universalist Society, she served on The Heritage Council on Aging, the task force for Medicare Part D, and also helped to write the standards for assisted living in the state of Iowa. Betty was the treasurer for the Local AARP and a member of Johnson County Genealogical Society. She was extremely active in the Senior Center and conducted many educational and computer programs there. The Iowa City Community Theatre was of great importance to Betty and she served in almost every position there including President, Secretary, Treasurer, costumes and even acting on stage sometimes. She also enjoyed attending Elderhostel trips and travelling all over the US and England for the family genealogy. Betty was chosen as the Senior of Distinction for Johnson County in 2000 and then in 2007, she was the Senior Citizen of The Year for the state of Iowa, receiving an award from the Governor’s office.

Betty is survived by her daughters Meg Shannon Burke and Erin Virginia Boulton, both of Denver, CO, and a son Lincoln Michael Schroeder of Berkeley, CA. She is also survived by 6 of her siblings; Flora Shinkle of St. Cloud, MN, James Boulton of Washington D.C., Gerald Boulton of Rancho Cordova, CA, Patricia Sharp of Fiddletown, CA, Jon Boulton of Traverse City, MI and Julian Boulton of Portland, OR, and two grandsons Adam Burke Boscoe and Joe Burke Lewand.

Betty was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Deane, one brother Verne “Jack” Boulton, and one sister Rosemary Cole.