Elizabeth 'Betty' DeVoe

Elizabeth A DeVoe, Mom, Grandmother, and Great Grandmother, passed away peacefully on July, 7th 2023. Betty, as she was better known, was born in Waterloo, Iowa on August 20th,1930. She was the eldest of 6 children. She embraced her 99.9% Irish heritage, and she enjoyed a number of trips to Ireland with her family. She was very proud to have been the first female Class Senior President of her high school in 1948 in Dubuque, Iowa and that put her on a life path of service and leadership. She graduated with honors as a Registered Nurse from the University of Iowa.

 Betty was the Mother of 3 children, Grandmother to 5, and Great Grandmother to 4 great-grandchildren. She lived throughout the midwest, never far from the Mississippi River, which she always loved. Betty moved to Indiana in 1973 and loved to call Muncie ‘home’ for 50 years. She was very proud to be involved as a businesswoman, and to be active in both civic duties and community service. She was an active member of the BSU Faculty wives, involved in local politics, a Muncie Symphony Board Member, a longtime member of the Muncie Board of Works, The Community Foundation of Muncie, the Muncie Sunrise Rotary, and an active member of numerous state & local administration boards and organizations. She was also a faithful member of Grace Episcopal Church and a big proponent of developing youth and women's development charities in Muncie.

Betty was honored by Governor Robert Orr in 1988 when she was awarded Indiana's most prestigious citizens award for her service to her community and the State of Indiana, by becoming a Sagamore of the Wabash alumni. Governor Orr also appointed Betty as a member of the Health Facilities Administrators Board of Registration and Education in 1986. For many of us, Betty DeVoe is best known as the President/CEO of Westminster Village Retirement Center. Starting in the mid-1970s as an RN at the facility, then as head of nursing, she eventually was offered the position of President and never looked back. For nearly 30 years Betty helped plan and grow Westminster Village into the respected, beautiful, statewide renowned, premiere facility it is today. She was always proud to ‘show off’ a new project or construction expansion.

 She loved to be the tour guide of Westminster Village and knew every employee and contractor by name. She couldn't help but be part of every detail of any project from the foundation concrete being poured, in her personal hard hat, down to where and how the final pictures were hung. She led by example and always expected everyone to be their best. Her 2 personal mottoes were ‘pedal to the metal’ & ‘there is no job… that's not your job!’ Betty had a gift and keen eye for potential and talent in people in both business and life. She was able to see people for what they could be and knew how to help position people for success.

 If you knew Betty DeVoe or Betty was part of your life you knew she was there for you! After retiring from business, she stayed involved in the Muncie community, a familiar face at local events, and if you went with Betty to the store, a concert, a bank, or an event in Muncie you just knew to add some extra time for Betty to visit or say hello to a friend, former employee or someone she had worked with. If she saw someone doing a great job, no matter how big or small the job was … that person was going to hear all about it! She had a great sense of humor, a distinctive laugh, and always a definite opinion! Betty loved chocolate, nice cars, long drives, working hard, feeding the birds, good music, ice cream sundaes, good friends, a good joke, and a good cup of coffee. But most of all she loved her family.

Betty DeVoe was very proud to be part of our community and through her service and contributions, she helped make Muncie a better place to live. She was one of a kind and she will be dearly missed and always loved…in more ways than one!

Betty is survived by daughters Shellie Burns (husband Stan), and Bab McLagan, and son Rob DeVoe (wife Jennie). Her beloved grandchildren Cody Burns (wife Megan) Sarah Burns, Lisa McLagan, Nathan McLagan, and Mathew McLagan (wife Rebecca) & great grandchildren Charlie, Gwen & Ben Burns, and Miller McLagan.

There will be a Celebration of Life held at Westminster Village in the early Fall of 2023 to be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you consider making a donation in memory of Betty DeVoe to Grace Episcopal Church, 300 S. Madison St., Muncie, IN 47305, or The Muncie YWCA (the Emergency Shelter Program), 310 E. Charles St., Muncie, IN 47305 Cards, letters, stories & condolences may be mailed to: The Betty DeVoe Family, c/o Westminster Village, 5801 W. Bethel Ave., Muncie, IN 47304.

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