Betty Chanson

Betty Chanson (nee Oakley), age 93, of Wayne passes away peacefully on Wednesday, September 21, 2022 while receiving the loving care of her family.

Betty was born and raised in Clifton, NJ and was the youngest of three children to Alfred and Theresa Oakley.  While growing up in Clifton, Betty attended Clifton high School, excelling in academics, she graduated with the class of 1947.  Immediately following her high school graduation, Betty enrolled in the Berkley Secretarial School located in the Clifton/Paterson area.  After receiving her certification in the secretarial program, Betty found employment quickly at the Singer Kearfott company in Nutley, NJ.  Betty remained at Singer Kearfott for several years and later took a position as a crossing guard with the Township of Wayne. This was work that Betty truly treasured.  Betty remained employed as a crossing guard for more than thirty years until she retired approximately fifteen years ago.

When Betty was a young woman, she snuck into a local CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) dance.  While at the dance, she met a handsome young man by the name of Robert Chanson.  Robert asked Betty to dance and they hit it off great.  They immediately started dating.  As fate would have it, they fell in love and Robert and Betty became husband and wife in Totowa, NJ.  After getting married, the newlyweds moved to the town of Wayne and have called it there home ever since.  While living in Wayne, Robert and Betty welcomed the births of both of their children Roy and Cheryl.  It was also after getting married that Betty made the decision to become a full-time homemaker.  This was truly Betty’s calling and certainly where she flourished.  Betty was a truly devoted wife and mother.  She was a wonderful cook and was famous by family and friends for her Pot Roast and her tomato sauce.  She was also proud of having won a cooking contest for her vegetable lasagna some years ago.  Betty cherished hosting her family’s events including birthday parties, and especially the holidays.

Betty was not only devoted to her family, but she was also dedicated to her Christian Faith and was baptized as a child at the Pompton Reformed Church in Pequannock.  She enjoyed traveling with her husband Robert over the years to a variety of destinations including the Dominican Republic, the Cayman Islands, and Bermuda.  She also treasured her family vacations to Dewey Beach in Delaware and frequented the Jersey Shore every summer.        

Not only was Betty devoted to her husband and children, but she was also devoted to her parents as well.  Betty took it upon herself to act as the primary and full-time caregiver for both her parents when they became elderly.  Caring for people was something that came natural to Betty and was also what some would call a gift.  Betty was often selfless, and whether if was family or friends, she took care of the needs of others before her own.  She was a wonderful and talented dancer, particularly of the polka, and was also a diehard New York Mets fan.  She loved all animals but had a soft spot for stray dogs.  Her husband Robert would often come home from work and find a new dog in the house that Betty had found.  She would often shelter the dogs until she could find their owners or bring them safely to the local animal shelter.

Betty was a kind and sweet woman who had a wonderful sense of humor and could light up any room she walked into with her smile and laughter.  Shel loved to joke around with people and had the delightful quality of being able to laugh at herself.  She was never heard to speak a bad word about anyone and had only friends, no enemies.  It was clear to everyone that knew Betty, that her greatest passion was for her family.  Nothing in world meant more to Betty than spending time with and providing for her family.  Betty and her husband Robert cherished more than sixty years of loving and loyal marriage together.

Betty touched the lives of everyone around her and will be sincerely missed by her family and friends alike.

Betty is survived by her husband Robert Chanson of Wayne, NJ, one daughter Cheryl Romeo and her husband Ralph of Wayne, NJ, one son Roy Chanson and his wife Amy of Princeton, NJ, four grandchildren; Nick Romeo and his wife Allie of Wayne, NJ, Mark Romeo and his wife Kristy of Little Silver, NJ, Eric Chanson of Princeton, NJ, and Alex Chanson and his wife Nicole of Atlanta, GA, four great grandchildren; Mason Romeo, Tenley Romeo, Sienna Romeo, and Charli Chanson.  Betty was predeceased by her brother Edward Oakley, her sister Dorothy Turner, and her granddaughter Melissa Romeo.

Donations in Betty’s name may be made to Friends of Wayne Animals (FOWA), PO Box 3701, Wayne NJ 07470.