Betty June (Gonder) Mulhollen

Obituary – Betty June Gonder Mulhollen (age 91)
June 11, 1923-December 15, 2014

Born in Lititz, PA, the third and youngest daughter of the late Ralph William Gonder and Lillie Mohler Gonder. Betty grew up in Lititz, PA and upon graduation from high school worked as a secretary in succession for Keath Planning Mill in Lititz, PA, Animal Trap Company in Lititz, PA and Armstrong Cork Company in Lancaster, PA. On September 21, 1943, she enlisted in the US Navy - WAVE. She was assigned to the Naval Intelligence Office in Washington, DC, where she proudly worked as a Naval Intelligence Clerk for the duration of WWII. Upon her discharge in 1946, Betty enrolled in college, beginning her studies at Penn State University and later transferring to and graduating from Millersville State College in Millersville, PA in May of 1950 with a BS in Social Studies.

Betty met her husband, the late Orange “Jim” Lynford Mulhollen, while attending classes at Penn State. Both Jim and Betty valued their educational opportunity to attend college, derived from their military service during WWII, and agreed not to marry until each one had graduated from college. Thus, soon after Betty’s graduation, they were married on June 10, 1950 in Lititz, PA. Jim was employed in Western PA, so that is where Betty and Jim settled after their marriage, mostly living in or near Ebensburg, PA. The early years of her marriage were filled with raising three daughters. When the children were older, she resumed her teaching career for several years, first as a remedial reading teacher and then as a high school social studies teacher.

Betty was always interested in genealogy. In researching her own personal family heritage, she was able to become a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1974. While serving as regent of the Quemahoning Chapter of the DAR, she helped with the documentation that lead to the Grave Marking of a Revolutionary Solider buried in Mineral Point, PA in 1981. She also maintained a business doing genealogical research for others.

From 1969 to 1976, Betty was the curator at the Cambria County Historical Society Museum, in Ebensburg, PA. Betty was instrumental in organizing their artifacts into a more cohesive collection. In 1972, Betty self-published a book on data she had collected on Cambria County, which is still sold today at the museum.

On a more personal level, Betty was active in her local Eastern Star organization, serving as Worthy Matron and District Deputy. She was also actively involved with the Ebensburg United Methodist Church in their Women's Group, Bible Studies and children's programs. She enjoyed reading, cooking, baking pies, sewing, and creating pastel drawings and sumi paintings. Betty and Jim retired to the Masonic Village in Elizabethtown, PA in 2003. In her new community, she became active singing in the women’s church choir. She also continued to read, work on cross word puzzles and jig saw puzzles.

Betty is survived by her three daughters, Cindy (Michael Musser), Laureen (Michael Brown) and Annalisa (David Parks) and four grandchildren, Laureen's children - Nicole and Trevor Smith, and Annalisa's children - Madeline and Micah Parks.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend the funeral at Sell Chapel Masonic Village, December 22, 2014, viewing at 1PM, service at 2:00 PM. Arrangements by Miller-Sekely Funeral Home, Elizabethtown.

Contributions may be made to: Masonic Village Elizabethtown Home Care, 1 Masonic Dr., Elizabethtown 17022.