Betty R. Walker

Betty Ruth Walker, 97, of Shelbyville, IL, passed away at 1:59 a.m. Tuesday, August 25, 2026, in Hawthorne Inn, Shelbyville, IL.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, August 29, 2026, at Howe and Yockey Funeral Home, Shelbyville, IL, with Tom Olmsted officiating. Visitation will be from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Saturday in the funeral home. Burial will be in Glenwood Cemetery, Shelbyville, IL. Memorials may be given to the Shelbyville Public Library or the Shelbyville Area Community Foundation for the Memorial Sunken Garden.

Betty was born on January 18, 1929, near Windsor, MO, the daughter of Zenos Glenn and Dimple Elizabeth (Ashinhurst) Strong. She began school in Missouri and finished her education at Stew-Stras and Shelbyville High Schools. Betty married Robert Wendell Walker on May 31, 1946. Betty was a homemaker, raising her son, Robert Jr., and daughter, Kathy. She also served as an election judge and collected data for the census. Betty often spent time outdoors enjoying her flowers and all animals. She was a member of the Red Hat Society and was an avid reader.

Betty is survived by her daughter, Kathy Bitzer and husband David of Effingham, IL; son, Robert W. Walker, Jr. and wife Sue Pilling of Osage Beach, MO; sisters, Glenna Henry of Columbia, MO, and Eileen Albin of Clinton, MO, Jane Edwards of Calhoun, MO, and Joy Abney of Calhoun, MO; brother, Gary Wheeler of Shelbyville, IL; three grandchildren, Blair Mulvaney, Adam Hershfelt (Sara), and Allison Washington (Freddie); and 7 great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her father, Glenn; mother, Dimple Wheeler (Elmer); husband, Robert on November 8, 2000; son-in-law, Chuck Mulvaney; and four brothers, Robert Glenn Strong, Zenos Wesley Strong, Ares Gene Strong, and Ray Don Strong.