Betty Harriet DeCarr, 91, Massena

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MASSENA - Betty Harriet DeCarr, age 91, of Clarkson Ave. and Cline Dr., passed away peacefully at Canton Potsdam Hospital surrounded by her loving family.

Betty was born December 22, 1932, in Massena, NY to parents George Ray and Laura Jessie (Campbell) McElheran.

She walked to and attended a one room country schoolhouse in Coles Creek through 7th grade and went on to graduate from Massena High School in 1951.

After graduation, Betty became employed as a mail girl at ALCOA then worked her way up to the position of secretary to J.P. Burns, Head of Shipping. She was determined to move up in the company and was proud of her accomplishment in doing so.

While employed at ALCOA she met and then married James “Jim” DeCarr in a candlelight ceremony on November 2, 1957, at the First United Methodist Church in Massena.

Once expecting their first child, Betty left ALCOA in 1958 and raised a total of four children together with Jim.

In 1973, when her youngest child started school, Betty returned to work at SUNY Potsdam spending 7 years working in the Bursar’s office and 14 years in the Payroll Department. She retired in 1994 with 21 years of service and dedication to the college.

Betty was always up for anything, trying various crafts at SUNY Potsdam and loved to do things with her sisters and girlfriends. Through the years she had belonged to a sewing club, See Weigh Tops, was a member of the Eastern Stars, did ceramics, and was a member of Massena Senior Citizens where she played bingo and cards with friends.

She also loved to go out dancing the jitterbug with her husband, Jim. Later she became a member of the Country Rebels, a line dancing group and really enjoyed doing this until she developed vertigo in 2015.

She loved to read books, magazines, and newspapers daily as well as play her computer card games.

She was a member of the Massena First United Methodist Church since 2009 and the Raymondville First United Methodist Church prior from the time she started raising her children.

She loved to travel within and outside of the U.S. She especially had fond memories of her trips to Hawaii, England, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, the Caribbean and Mexico on cruises, Houston, Texas and Las Vegas trips with the Elks Club, Branson, MO, Washington DC as well as many family trips throughout New England, Northeast, Southeast and the Midwest part of the U.S.

She loved music and attended many concerts with her sisters, friends, and her husband.

She found a deep love later in life that she did not realize you could have, with the addition of her two Bichon-Poo dogs, Tobey and Brodie. They brought her so much joy and purpose and meant everything to her.

She was lovingly known as little “Miss Betty” by the staff at the various hospitals she had stays at in the past 2 ½ years. Everyone loved her and was “wowed” by her strength and her ability to recover after some lengthy and difficult medical procedures and treatments, right up to her passing.

She has left a positive impression on everyone as being extremely sweet and good natured as well as thoughtful, smart, beautiful, and strong.

Betty loved her family, fur babies and friends deeply. She was an amazing, dedicated, and loving mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend.

She was very much loved and will forever leave a huge void in the lives of the people she has left behind in this world.

Betty was predeceased by her husband, Jim on December 1, 2021, after 64 years of marriage, her parents; sisters, Laura Ann Sheets, Grace Nitchmann and Leta O’Shaughnessy, brothers, Reginald and Hugh McElheran; and most recently her two precious dogs, Brodie and Tobey.

Betty is survived by her sons, Terry of Shelburne, VT, Jim and his wife, Lynn of North Haven, CT and daughters, Lisa and her husband, Bill Schmidt of Greenfield, WI and Julie DeCarr of Massena, 8 grandchildren: Cody DeCarr, Kayla DeCarr and husband Brenton Woodrow, Devin DeCarr and wife, Mackenzie, Olivia and husband Eric Manion, Anthony, Juliana, Conner, and Carson Schmidt and 4 great-grandchildren: Navy and Indigo DeCarr Woodrow and Sophia and Jaxon DeCarr. Sisters, Janet Brownell and Carol Elias also survive her, both of Massena, NY.

A service will be held on Saturday May 4, 2024, at 3:00 pm at Donaldson Funeral Home in Massena.

Family will greet friends prior starting at 2:00 pm.

A private burial will be held at Calvary Cemetery next week.

In lieu of flowers, those wishing may consider memorial contributions made in Betty’s name to Special Olympics or a charity of one’s choice.

Arrangements are under the care and guidance of the Donaldson Funeral Home, Massena, where friends are encouraged to share memories and offer condolences to her family online at www.donaldsonfh.com.