Obituary of Betty Jean Byrnes

Betty Jean Byrnes.

Betty Jean (Buck) Byrnes, 91, of Willingboro, born on September 6, 1930, beloved wife of Vincent F. Byrnes, and retired teacher and guidance counselor, died on January 30, 2022 at Samaritan Hospice in Mt. Holly following a long illness.

Betty Jean was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the second daughter of William and Mary Buck. She moved to South Jersey with her family at an early age. She graduated from Camden Catholic High School in 1947, received a full scholarship to Georgian Court College where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Math in 1951, graduating summa cum laude. She earned her Masters of Education degree from Trenton State College in 1975.

After college, she lived in Palmyra with her parents and taught Math at Moorestown High School from 1951-1955 when she married Vincent, in Hawaii, where he was stationed as an Army officer. They lived in Hawaii for the first two years of their 66 year-long marriage and Hawaii remained a special place in their lives celebrating their 50th wedding at the chapel at Schofield Barracks in 2005 with their three children. During Vince's Army career they moved many times, living in Hawaii, New Jersey, Georgia, Kansas, Connecticut and Germany, until Vince's retirement in 1973. She returned to the classroom in 1972 and was a mathematics teacher and guidance counselor in the Willingboro School District from 1972 to her retirement in 1994. She loved being a wife and mother, and she loved teaching math and being a guidance counselor. Guiding young lives brought much meaning to her life. She was an active member and former president of the Burlington County School Counselors Association as well as a member of the New Jersey Counseling Association. She was an active member and past president of the Willingboro Branch, American Association of University Women (AAUW), and member and treasurer of the Corpus Christi Senior Citizens Club. She was a volunteer with Catholic Charities of the Trenton Diocese, working with Providence House and Saint Joachim's School in Trenton as well as the annual Taste of Burlington County. She was also a member of Phi Delta Kappa since 1982. She was a devout Catholic and for over 30 years taught religious education classes and served as a Lector at Corpus Christi Parish in Willingboro, NJ.

Betty Jean also loved going to the shore every summer, playing Bridge with friends, and enjoyed many life-long friendships. Entertaining at her home over the holidays, for special occasions, or with her prayer group, was something she always looked forward to and enjoyed tremendously.

She is survived by her loving husband Vincent F. Byrnes and her dear children William Byrnes (and Beth) of Burlington, NJ, Ann Marie Byrnes (and Tom Hartman) of Lumberton, NJ, and Kathleen Byrnes (and John Immerwahr) of Rosemont, PA.

Liturgy of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, February 4,2022, 10:30am at the Corpus Christi R.C. Church, 11 South Sunset Road, Willingboro,NJ. Relatives and friends may call Friday morning, 9am-10am at the Goes – Scolieri Funeral Home, 212 Levitt Parkway, Willingboro,NJ. Interment : Jesus Bread of Life Cemetery, Mt.Laurel,NJ.

In lieu of flowers, you are invited to make a donation if you wish to– 1) Corpus Christi Church, 63 Sylvan Lane, Willingboro, NJ 08046 or2) Providence House Domestic Violence Services of Catholic Charities, 595 Beverly Mt. Holly Road, Mt. Holly, NJ 08060, in her memory