Betty Criss

Betty was born in 1933 in Florence, KS to Fred and Shirley (Hinchman) Piper. She attended Florence Schools graduating in 1951. She raised her family in Potwin before moving to El Dorado in 1972. She was an entrepreneur and a businesswoman. She supported Butler Community College as a philanthropist and invested much time and energy into many worthy causes including the Grizzlies sports program. She served on the Kansas Water Commission, was an El Dorado City Commissioner from 1999 until 2005 and was instrumental in organizing the Kansas Governor’s One Shot Turkey Shoot. She provided the funding to build the community swimming pool in Florence. She and her husband owned Lewis and West Concrete Co. in El Dorado and were involved in numerous real estate and land developments including Vintage Place and The Greens as well as a part owner in the Prairie Trails Country Club. Betty loved cooking and traveling and enjoyed playing bridge with her Bridge Club. She enjoyed playing dominoes and watching old Westerns.
Her greatest joy was her family which includes her only surviving brother Ernest (Susan) Piper of San Diego, CA. and her children, Bill (Becky) Mann of Burns, Tom (Sally) Mann of Duncanville, TX; step-children Sandy Criss-Cooper of Wichita, Bob (Lisa) Criss of Bolingbrook, IL, Mike (Leslie) Criss of Huntsville, AL, Susan Criss-Carboy of Fairbanks, AK; 18 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren. Betty passed away on October 8, 2019 in Wichita, surrounded by her family. She is preceded in death by her husband, Ramon; daughter, Molly Mann, 9 siblings and her parents.

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