Betty would often say, “If it is raining and cloudy outside, you have got to make your own sunshine.” This was how Betty lived. She made lots of her sunshine by helping others. She taught English as a second language; she volunteered at a nursing home, and joined a sewing club, not to sew, but to iron the fabric so others could sew.

At St Mark’s she served as treasurer, office assistant, and she taught catechism classes.

Betty Lee Hartenbower was born March 2,1927 in Eureka, KS. During her youth she helped her parents in both of their restaurants and on their farm. Undoubtedly, Betty learned from her parents, Jesse and Bernice Hartenbower, that success comes from hard work and treating others right.

Betty attended Emporia State University where she met Tom Van Sickle and they were married on December 22, 1947. Betty was fond of saying that she had two boys in less than 13 months. That was true because Tom and Betty were surprised to have twin boys, born during a snow storm, on January 30th, 1949.

After the birth of Jeff and Gregg, Betty partnered with Tom to open and successfully operate Tom Van Sickle Inc. for 25 years. The store carried televisions and appliances, including some of the first color TVs and microwave ovens in Emporia. Betty was the shop’s best sales person, likely because she always remembered peoples’ names and provided excellent customer service.

Jeff and Gregg both graduated from Kansas University. Gregg went to Northwestern Medical School and Jeff, after obtaining an architecture degree, completed a Master’s degree in Urban Planning at the City College of New York. Both careers were built in part from Tom and Betty’s encouragement to work hard, help others, and be brave enough to follow your passion.

Gregg married Carey Ann Payne; they live in Topeka, KS. They have three children: John who lives in Old Greenwich, CT with his wife Molly and their three children; Andrew, who lives with his wife Erin Hill in Milwaukee, WI, and Kelley who, along with her husband Tommy and two children, live in Roeland Park, KS.

Jeff married Janice Gatewood and they live in Wichita, KS. They have three children: Jason Van Sickle of Wichita, KS who has two grown children; Jeana Van Sickle, who along with Josh Best, live in Minneapolis, MN with their two children, and Jill Harrison who resides in Minnetonka, WI with her daughter and her husband, Brad. Tom and Betty would have celebrated 79 years of marriage in December of this year. In addition, their six grandchildren they have ten great grandchildren and three great great grandchildren.

New spouses and grandchildren ended up loving Betty for her unique ways of embracing new family members like creating special nicknames, giving thoughtful gifts, and even writing “Welcome to the Family” on the mirrors with lipstick.

Betty did a lot of remarkable things in her life. She took up golf at age 55. She loved to dance. At age 80 she performed in a dancer recital; her troupe was featured in an article in the Emporia Gazette. Remarkably, Betty was ahead of her time in technology. She showed younger people how to text when text messaging was just beginning. Betty embraced adventures like traveling with Tom. They loved Amsterdam and spent a lot of winters in Citrus Hills, Florida. Betty visited her children and grandchildren in cities across the country..

The best memories of Betty are how special she made us all feel. As one of her sons expressed, “Betty made us feel like a million bucks because she truly wanted to hear about our lives.” She spent hours playing cards with her grandchildren; she gave the most wonderful hugs, and she had her own special sayings that she repeated that became messages of comfort. She would say, “ I love you the most”, when you were away from Betty she would say “put your arms around yourself and give your self a big hug.” She would sign off on all correspondence with “Love, Hugs and Prayers”. When we use Betty’s special sayings we are passing along her love.

Rest assured that Betty would tell us all to put our arms around ourselves and each other, and give ourselves a big hug.

She also said “God is with me now and is my constant companion. God is filling my mind with peace and courage and will never leave me.”

So, until we meet again, love, hugs & prayers to all of us from Betty.

Celebration of Betty’s life will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday September 12, 2026, at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church,1508 West 12th. Emporia, Kansas. A private Interment will be held on a beautiful fall day at Mount Hope Cemetery in Neosho Rapids, Kansas. A Memorial Fund has been established at Emporia’s St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in care of Roberts-Blue-Barnett Funeral Home, P.O. Box 175, Emporia, Kansas 66801. You can leave online condolences at www.robertsblue.com