Betty Jean Howard

November 28, 1941 - June 10, 2026

Betty was born on November 28, 1941 at Shelby County Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. However, she was raised in Chicago Heights, Illinois.

A graduate of Bloom Township High School, Betty entered the healthcare field in her early adulthood as a nursing home worker and briefly left to work as an armed security guard. When she returned to healthcare, she came back to work as a home healthcare aide for Illinois Department on Aging. In addition to this professional life, Betty served for over twenty years as an election poll judge, ensuring registered voters’ voices in her community were heard.

In her spiritual life, Betty was a longtime member of New Beginnings Full Gospel Church. As a member, she participated in the women’s organization, attending fundraisers and banquets and assisting officials with administering help to those in need. Even when she could no longer attend church services, she tithed and remained faithful to her belief in and love of God.

In character, Betty was always generous, compassionate, fun-loving, hearty, and just plain down-to-earth. Over the years, she started donating to various causes that reflected her values, especially helping people in need. She was a devoted friend to all those who accepted her loving kindness. Betty loved get-togethers (especially holidays), cookouts, Motown and all the Dusties, a plate of hot, fried fish with spaghetti, and ice cream. Herself a wonderful cook and avid baker, Betty shared her home, her table, and her heart with all those who came her way, even if those persons were merely passing through.

Betty is preceded in death by her father, Eugene Howard; her brother, Raymond Howard; her mother, Ora Lee Henderson; and her brother, Richard Lee Moore. She leaves to mourn her five children: Antone Camp, Tracey McAdams, Dorian Moore, Florette Sander, and Kerry Luckett and two brothers: Nokomis (Butch) Moore, Jr. and Reginald Smith. She also leaves to mourn a host of grandchildren, great grandchildren, and many close friends and neighbors.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to: National Black Nurses Association, (https://nbna.org).