Bette Lou King

King, Bette Lou
1934 - 2019
Bette Lou Corbett King, 85, died Friday, December 27, 2019 in her sleep in Gahanna. With her big bright smile and her ready laugh, she was a talented woman who said her favorite days were when she was a mother to young children. Bette was born on July 15, 1934, in Canal Lewisville, Ohio, to the late John Andrew and Laura Larr Corbett. The youngest of five children, she spent much of the Great Depression "helping" her parents at the family grocery store. When the family moved to Columbus, the vivacious Bette was a dancer, cheerleader, class valedictorian and the homecoming queen at Mifflin High School class of 1952. More importantly, she met Jack C. King, the handsome football player who would become her husband of more than 50 years. Jack and Bette had four children, and Bette used her abilities to paint things like a carousel on a bedroom wall, organize talent shows at Beaumont and Cherrington Elementary Schools, and create an extensive miniature Christmas village. She was president of the Westerville Parent Teacher Association and a Girl Scout leader. She learned how to golf to spend more time with her husband, and she became quite good at it. Eventually Bette took a job at the Otterbein University Bookstore, where she worked until she was 70 years old. She loved attending the games and performances of her grandchildren, scrapbooking the ticket stubs and programs. She was preceded in death by her husband, Jack C. King; her parents, John Andrew and Laura Larr Corbett; her siblings, James Corbett, Charles Corbett, John "Pete" Corbett and Gladys Hogue, and her daughter-in-law Deborah Merriman King. She is survived by her children: Karen (Ken) Twinem of Westerville; Kathleen (John) Harris of Lynn, IN; Kristine (Eric) Robbins of Westerville; and Kyle (Dr. Jill Williams) King of Clintonville. She has 14 grandchildren: Arika (Chad) Sandridge of Chelsea, AL; Andalina (Chad) Fetta of Lynn, IN; Sara (Brian) Doyle of New York; Daniel (Stephanie) Allen of Portland, IN; Joseph Doyle of Westerville; Adam (Tracie) Allen of Indianapolis; Chris Harris of Liberty, IN; Jeanette (Brad) Fisher of Lynn, IN; John (Kristen) Harris of Williamsburg, IN; Eric (Kristen) Robbins II of Indianapolis; Brooke Robbins of Milwaukee; Griffin King of Columbus; Jason King of Columbus, and Brad Robbins of Westerville. She also is survived by 15 great-grandchildren. Family and friends will be received at Hill Funeral Home, 220 State St., Westerville, at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, January 4. The service will be there at 10:30 a.m. with internment immediately afterwards at Blendon Central Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in her memory be made to Otterbein University Office of Institutional Advancement, 1 South Grove St., Westerville OH 43081 to fund a scholarship for a female Mifflin High School or Westerville South High School student to attend Otterbein.