Mary E. ''Betty'' Vanderlaan

Mary Elizabeth “Betty” Vanderlaan, nee Unhock, age 85, died peacefully on June 24, 2008. Beloved wife of the late Alfred “Van” “Buddy” Vanderlaan. Loving mother of Jeanne Seitz and Gregory (Mary Pat) Vanderlaan. Dear grandmother of Raymond (Kristi) Seitz, Christine (Thomas) Copp, Derk (Michelle) Seitz, and Luke Vanderlaan. Dearest great grandmother of Dylan and Jordan Seitz, Josh and Julie Copp, and Janine and Jennifer Seitz. Fond sister of the late William (the late Mary) Unhock. She is also survived by her cousins and by her beloved nieces and nephews who loved her as a second mother and as a friend. Betty attended St. Cornelius grade school (1936), and Calumet High School (1940). She was the embodiment of the traditional American woman, devout in her beliefs, steadfast in her convictions and focused on her responsibilities as a loyal daughter and later as a loving and devoted wife and mother. Her greatest sense of accomplishment came in providing love and security for her husband and children. After losing her mother at age five and her father as a very young woman, she later recounted as one of her greatest blessings her brother and her extended family of caring aunts, generous uncles and cousins who were like brothers and sister. All through her life and until just days before the end, she found great happiness dancing, listening to music, and playing cards when surrounded by her family, especially her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Visitation: Friday from 3-8PM. Funeral Saturday 9:15AM from Colonial Chapel, 15525 S. 73rd Ave. (155th/Wheeler Dr. & Harlem) Orland Park to St. Stephen, Deacon and Martyr Church, 17500 South 84th Avenue, Tinley Park, IL 60487. Mass 10:00AM. Interment Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Memorials to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, PKU Organization of Illinois, or St. Stephen, Deacon and Martyr Catholic Church preferred. Express your thoughts and condolences at www.colonialchapel.com
708-532-5400