Elizabeth Anne Petkus (“Betty”) died peacefully in her sleep on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in her daughter’s home in West Tisbury, surrounded by family. She was 98.
Betty was born on August 24, 1927, in Bronxville, N.Y., the only child of Jack and Kitty Busher. She graduated from the Ursuline School in New Rochelle, N.Y., before attending Marymount College in Tarrytown, N.Y.
In April 1948, she married John Petkus, M.D., and settled in Shohola, Pa., a small town in the Poconos, on the Delaware River just across from Barryville, N.Y. There she raised her five children, as well as assisting her husband with his new family medical practice. His office was attached to the family home, and she helped him deliver many late night babies. As her family grew and got older, she became the de facto chauffeur for not only her children, but many of their friends. Her wood-paneled Ford station wagon was always on the go, full of kids.
She and her husband John retired to Sun City, Fla., where she lived for many years, even after his passing in 2006. In 2014 she moved to her daughter Donna’s home in West Tisbury, where she lived until her death.
Betty loved being with people, and never missed the chance to get together with friends and family for dinner and drinks. A cocktail by the pool or at the beach was her idea of an afternoon well-spent.
She was predeceased by her parents, and her husband John. She is survived by her son, Michael Petkus and his wife Hope of Punta Gorda, Fla.; her daughter, Donna Petkus of West Tisbury, who was her longtime caregiver while she lived on Martha’s Vineyard; her son, Kenneth Petkus of Chilmark; her daughter, Patricia Petkus of Narrowsburg, N.Y.; her daughter, Maureen Petkus of Barryville and Vero Beach, Fla.; and by 10 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Viewing will be on Friday evening at 6 pm, Sept. 19, at Harrison Rasmussen Funeral Home in Barryville, N.Y., with a burial service on Saturday, Sept. 20, at 10 am at St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Shohola, Pa.