Bette Brennan passed away on September 1^st, 2024, in her home in Massapequa Park, NY surrounded by her children, after battling uterine cancer for the past year.  Her sense of humor, love for her children & grandchildren, passion for shopping and travel, and funny colloquialisms were well known to all her friends and family. Bette is survived by her daughters Jill (children Natalie and Cecile) and Jeannine, and her son Danny (wife Courtney, children Tim, Daniel and Will). Bette will be reunited with her deceased parents Elmer and Mary, husband Dan (‘Kevin’), brother Bob and sister in-laws Marianne and Maureen, dear friends Janet, Maureen, Betty, and Claire, and many other family and friends.

Bette was born in Astoria, NY on June 20^th, 1939, to her Italian parents Elmer and Mary Morra.  Her father was a life insurance salesperson and her mother a homemaker, and the Morra’s regularly attended mass and had dinners together including a larger one on Sunday afternoons. Given the gap in age, her older brother Bob was off to college at Rensselaer while Bette was still young. Bette was a social girl, had a large group of friends and enjoyed going to the beach in the summers and skiing in the winter.  Many of her high school friends she kept up with into her 80s. She was a very good student, though decided to forgo attending college and started working immediately after graduating high school, with the ‘saved’ tuition money promised (by her father) to be allocated to an eventual wedding reception at any location of her choice.

Bette met her soon to be husband, Kevin, in 1959, in the Astoria neighborhood, where Kevin’s family only lived 2 blocks away on 33^rd street. They were married in 1961 with the reception at the renowned Plaza Hotel in NYC. They moved to nearby Jackson Heights where they had their 2 daughters, Jill (in 1963) and Jeannine (in 1966) in their one-bedroom apartment. In 1969, they moved to Long Island to Massapequa Park, and soon thereafter in 1970 had their son Danny (who Bette oft referred to as ‘my son, my son’). Bette lived in that same ranch-style house for over 50 years until her passing earlier this week. Bette and Kevin bonded with their neighbors, and the families leaned on each other in good times and bad to help raise their children.

While Kevin was part of the NYPD and then transitioned to residential real estate, Bette worked several different jobs early on, all of which were part time, since she wanted to be home in the summer with her children and have flexibility to be with them when needed. She eventually took a job as full-time executive assistant, working directly for the CFO, at General Semiconductor in 1984, where she remained until retiring in 2001. Bette managed the Brennan household finances meticulously, stretched the family income (C&C Cola instead of Coke! No cable, just channels 2-13) to provide for the occasional vacation (to Disney or Williamsburg) and a membership at Wantagh Pools.

Bette was known for her colloquialisms: “It never hurts to ask” was motivational support for her children to never be shy about trying something, taking a risk.  “I am glad I am old’ became a common refrain later in her years, mostly to describe her concern and disappointment with the current political and social environment across America (Bette is a proud supporter of Trump & the Republican Party). “I am glad I did what I did when I did it”, reflecting back on the many trips and fun she was able to have (with her family and friends) despite a limited budget.

Bette had many passions. She loved to shop (‘Bette Bargain’) with leopard patterns her favorite design by far.  She also really enjoyed the beach, whether trips to Florence Avenue locally, TOBAY Beach, to beaches out in Eastern Long Island to stay with good friends, or later for annual summer vacations with her children (and later just her friends) to the Jersey Shore. While vacations and traveling were not enticing to Kevin, this didn’t stop Bette. Beginning around year 2000, she started to take a trip every other year to a European destination with a group of her girlfriends via shrewd planning and sound saving.   Music was also a constant in the household, with Neil Diamond and Queen two of her favorites. Most of all, Bette loved spending time with her children and later on her five grandchildren. Attending sports games was a primary outlet, and anyone at the field could hear Bette screaming her child’s or grandchild’s name throughout the game, and sometimes racing down the sideline side by side with her daughter to add further encouragement.  Attending her granddaughters’ concerts was another love of Bette, particularly later in life.

Visitations will take place at the Massapequa Funeral Home (North Chapel at 1050 Park Boulevard, Massapequa Park, NY) this Thursday, September 5^th from 4-8PM. A funeral mass will be held this Friday, September 6^th at 10:45AM at Our Lady of Lourdes Church (855 Carmans Road, Massapequa Park, NY). Following mass, Bette will be laid to rest at St. Charles Cemetery (2015 Wellwood Ave., Farmingdale NY) with a luncheon reception thereafter at the Bacaro Italian Tavern (1020 Park Boulevard, Massapequa Park, NY). Flowers or gifts to the Police Benevolent Association or American Cancer Society are equally welcome.

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