Bette Gunkel

Bette Gunkel, 65, of Sherman, went peacefully to heaven on Saturday, November 25, 2017 at 4:21 P.M.

She was born on April 10th, 1952, the daughter of Orville and Mary Josephine Pieper. Bette married Neal Gunkel on October 24, 1975. She is survived by her husband, Neal; her children, Cory and David Dahlkamp and Adam and Angela Gunkel; and her grandchildren, Hunter and Ava Dahlkamp, and Zoey and Christian Gunkel. Bette was preceded in death by her son Brian Neal Gunkel, with whom she is now reunited.

Bette spent 33 years dedicated to teaching and advocating for special education students in Williamsville and Sherman through the Sangamon Area Special Education District. She was deeply loved by her students and the teachers she worked with and mentored.

Bette loved to read, travel, play euchre with friends, adventure with her children and grandchildren, eat amazing food all over the world and drink fantastic wine. She continued to teach after her retirement, just not in a classroom. She taught her grandchildren how to love reading, how to cook and and what the perfect love of a grandparent looks like and they will miss her terribly. She taught everyone else she encountered how to navigate life with a steady grace, witty humor and unflinching resolve. She was a Christian, wife, mother, best friend, confidante, comedian, card shark, amateur sommelier, lay therapist, educator, hostess, and beloved grandmother. Bette was a light to everyone who knew her and the hole that is in our hearts will be forever filled with thankfulness for the time we had with her.

A celebration of Bette will be held on Friday, December 1st from 5:30-7:30 pm, with a remembrance by the family at 6:30, at Poe’s On The Hill (295 E. Andrew Rd. Springfield, IL 62727

In lieu of flowers, Bette and her family request that donations be made to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance, to help combat the #1 cause of gynecologic cancer deaths.

https://ocrfa.org