Betty Casper

Betty McEnroe Casper, age 95, Topeka, Kansas, passed away Tuesday, February 1, 2022. Betty was born in Topeka to Ethel and Adrian McEnroe. She was married to Dr. Joseph T. Casper, Jr. for 62 years and was a lifelong Topeka resident. Betty had strong pillars in life and they were faith, family, friends, and community. She was a parishioner and she and her children were a founding family of Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church. She was devoted to her Catholic faith her entire life. Her family was everything to her and Betty was proud to be a homemaker. Her children who survive her are Joseph T. Casper III and his wife, Christine, Adrianne Evans, and Robert Casper and his wife, Brenda. She is also survived by her seven grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren, who called her Great Betty, to her delight. She was an active community volunteer and was often in leadership roles with the organizations she joined. Betty was a life member of St. Francis Auxiliary. She was a member and president of both the Topeka Dental and the Kansas Dental Auxiliary. She was a member of the Nautilus Club, a College Hill neighborhood organization and served as president. She was a volunteer for Topeka Community Concert for more than 50 years and served on the board including a term as president. A top salesperson in memberships to these community concerts for several years, her dedication to the organization was honored with a scholarship in her name to a Washburn University student. Betty also received the 2012 Arts Connect Arty Award for Outstanding Volunteer for her work with Community Concerts. She was an avid Washburn University supporter for decades, along with her husband, Joe. They traveled to away games for both men and women’s basketball, rarely missed a home basketball game and attended most football games for many seasons. While her children were attending Washburn, Betty served as president of the Mothers Club for two fraternities and a sorority. She also served as chairperson for a two-state fundraising campaign for the Petro Allied Health Center. She became the first female president of the Ichabod Club and was the first woman named Ichabod of the Year. She was a member of the Nonoso Honor Society and was named a patroness of Sigma Alpha Iota music sorority. She served on the Friends of the Mabee Library board of directors and worked in the Washburn bookstore during enrollment. Betty received the Washburn University Alumni Association Monroe Award for community service and received an honorary doctorate in Public Service from Washburn in 2013. Her passion and commitment to community efforts to support the arts and learning were strong. Betty was preceded in death by her husband, Joe, her parents, an infant sister, Virginia, and her brother Harlon. Memorial contributions may be made to Washburn University Endowment for the Betty McEnroe Casper music scholarship and sent in care of Kevin Brennan Family Funeral Home, 2801 Urish Road, Topeka, KS 66614. The family is having a private funeral. Condolences may be sent online to www.kevinbrennanfamily.com.

Betty Casper

November 16, 1926 - February 1, 2022