Betty Mattey

Betty Ann Mattey, age 96, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family, on March 19, 2026. Betty, lovingly known as “Gram Bet” to many, was the matriarch of her family. Born in Homestead, PA, on January 24th, 1930, to the late Patience Jacobs (née Baker) and Dewey Earl Jacobs, Betty went on to become a lifelong caregiver, avid reader, talented painter, and lover of flowers.

After graduating from nursing school, Betty became a maternity and newborn nurse, and later, a school nurse at both Mount Pleasant High School and Junior High School. Betty remained devoted to the welfare of others, continuing to care for friends and family well beyond her nursing retirement. Deeply engaged in her community, Betty served as President of the Garden Club in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, and was known for her artistic temperament.

In retirement, Betty was a docent at the Brandywine Museum of Art and led the St. Columbkille Church bereavement committee. Spirited through the end of her life, Betty played alongside her great-granddaughter in the family fantasy football league. Betty will be remembered for her creative spirit, keen intellect, gregarious nature, and unwavering grace under pressure.

In addition to her four siblings who preceded her in death, Betty joins her husband, John J. Mattey, her son, Jeffery Mattey, and her granddaughter, Lyndsey Rager. She is survived by six children and their families: Marcia (Vince) Grano, Cynthia (Roger) Rager, John D. (Beth) Mattey, James (Carol) Mattey, Jerome (Elaine) Mattey, and Joseph (Diane) Mattey; grandchildren Jennifer Stoner, James Cooley, John Cooley, Marcelle Williams, Ashley Menser, Chloé Rager, Janna Ruiz, Gail Mattey, Laura Szczepanski, Elizabeth Mariotti, Caroline Snyder, Kate Mattey, Krystine Mattey, Zephyr Mattey, Shasta Talmey, and Nicci Mattey; as well as numerous great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins. Betty was a proud and devoted grandmother to her grandchildren and their spouses, and a loving great-grandmother to her great-grandchildren. She delighted in recounting their number, often telling those she met that she was lucky to have 40 of them.

Betty had a remarkable gift for remembering birthdays and, in her later years, lovingly created hand-painted birthday cards that always arrived right on time. Her warmth, kindness, and compassion were evident in the love she gave so freely to others. She often said she wanted everyone to know they mattered and were important, and she lived that belief every day. She leaves behind a legacy of love that will continue to inspire all who knew her.

Services will be private. A celebration of life and a burial will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in her memory to Breakthrough T1D, formerly the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).