Betty Gama

Known as ‘the Matriarch’ to her beloved family, Betty Marie Gama has passed on at the age of 97 years old after living her life - to borrow the lyric from Frank Sinatra - her way. She was surrounded by family.

She was born on December 29, 1923 in Erie, PA, to Walter and Marie Weber.

She later married Andrew Gama, and they spent many wonderful years together and raised three daughters before he passed away.

It was her goal to reach 100 years old to get herself on the Smucker’s jar, but the truth is, no jar could hold her goodness, her kindness, and her polite stubbornness.

It was her hope that she would meet two people at the Gates of Heaven– her loving husband, Andy, and former President Abe Lincoln.

You could just as easily find Betty in a pew at St. Patrick’s Church as you could find her on a golf course, a bocce ball court, at a dinner table, or sitting on the floor playing with children.

Betty loved her family, friends, food, holidays, politics, and conversing about worldly topics sourced by her crush, David Muir, just as well as by the local Erie Times newspaper. No one could iron a shirt, make buttered noodles, or sing along to a Christmas song on the radio quite like Betty.

She had many favorite local haunts like Ricardo’s, for their filet and zucchini, Sontheimer’s for their chocolate brownies, and always loved shopping at Wegman’s grocery. She also reminisced about Luigi’s Pizza and Friday nights at Chuck & Ginny’s.

She spent the last decade living independently in the Boston Store where everyone knew her name and her neighbors, young and old, loved to converse with her and watch her feed the birds.

She loved going to the movies and would sit in the theater until midnight watching the latest Star Wars, and also loved the classics like Casablanca. She and her grandson would sign off from their daily phone calls with her favorite line “Here’s looking at you, kid.”

Besides her parents and her husband Andrew, Betty was preceded in death by a daughter Marcy Fabin; along with her sisters, Audrey, Jeanne, and Shirley, and her brothers, Robert and Walter Weber.

She is survived by her daughters, Lynn Wheeler and Diane Coleman; her grandson and his wife, Jamie and Jaime Wheeler, her granddaughter and her husband, Christy and Jerome Hardmon, and their children, Gianna and Alexander; her grandson, Justin Coleman, and his children, Halle, Gabrielle and Christian; her granddaughter, Kylie Coleman, and her children Amory and Jaelen; and her grandson Christopher Jackson and his wife Tiarra and their children Aiyawna, Calvin, and Christopher, Jr.

From everyone that knew and loved Betty, “Here’s looking at you, kid.”

Due to Covid 19, funeral services will be private, but you are able to view the services by livestream on Monday, February 22, 2021 at 1:00 PM by logging on to www.facebook.com/BurtonQuinnScott

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Patrick Church Restoration Fund, 130 E. 4th St., Erie, PA 16507 or to Family Hospice, 1700 Peach St., Erie, PA 16501.

Arrangements by the Quinn Funeral Home, West 9th & Liberty Street.