Lillian E. West

Lillian Elizabeth West, 92, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, August 6, 2013, at Chelsea Senior Living in Brick, New Jersey. Lillian, best known as Bette, was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, and resided in the New Jersey towns of South Plainfield, Westfield, Watchung, Murray Hill and Chadwick Beach, as well as Tequesta, Florida, throughout her life. She was predeceased by her high school sweetheart and loving husband of 57 years, Chester Dudley West, Sr., her parents Samuel and May Millwater, her sister May "Peggy" Sullo, and her brother John Millwater. Bette worked alongside her husband as the bookkeeper in his Westfield-based electrical contracting company for years while raising their children on Prospect Street, and her artistic achievements included the design of the Westfield welcome sign and the cover of The Weather Vane, her high school's yearbook. While Bette was an accomplished craftswoman with many talents, she will be remembered best by friends and family for the intricate sweaters and Christmas stockings she knit with love and kindness. Bette was a voracious reader and could often be seen soaking in the sun on the beaches of New Jersey and Florida with a good book by her side. She mastered the Kindle and became an active user of her iPad and Facebook in her later years, using them to engage with her children and grandchildren. Genealogy and local history also served as Bette's passions, as she spent years tracing her family's ancestry to the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Bette is survived by her four children, Carol West Kelly and her husband George, of Lavallette, Chester D. West, Jr. and his wife Jeanne, of Avon-by-the-Sea, Peggy West and her husband, Charles Honart, of Radnor, Pa., and Betsy West Bruce of Hamburg, brother-in-1aw Carl Sullo, nine grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. Family will be gathering at Gray Funeral Home on Saturday, August 10, 2013, with a private burial at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, New Jersey, at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Grace Healthcare Services through their website, or 105 Fieldcrest Avenue, suite 402, Edison, NJ 08837.