Betty Chiti
Staunton | Save
Betty Sue Chiti left this world as she lived in it — surrounded by love. She passed peacefully on May 26, 2026, in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the age of 88, cradled in the presence of her devoted husband Robert (Bob), her children Kelley Waltrip and Robert Chiti Jr., and her daughter-in-law Shellie Chiti.
Born February 5, 1938, in Ridgeway, Illinois, Betty was the middle daughter of Clarence and Lucille Hish — a place in the family she seemed destined for, positioned between those she loved and always holding everyone together.
She is survived by two grandchildren — Justin (Amanda) Waltrip of San Antonio, TX, & Jacob (Mallory) Waltrip of Rochester, IL, eight great grandchildren, her younger sister Sharon Johnson of Hoopeston, Illinois, and is reunited in spirit with her older sister Bonnie Peterson, and Jim R. Waltrip her son-in-law who preceded her in death.
At just seventeen, Betty set out for Springfield, Illinois, to begin work at the Secretary of State’s Office — and the city quickly took notice of her. In 1956, she was crowned Miss Springfield, a title that reflected not just her beauty, but the warmth and grace she carried throughout her entire life. Two years later, she married the love of her life, Robert (Bob) Chiti, a local teacher and high school football coach and the couple began their family in Auburn, Illinois, where both of their children were born. In 1966, the family moved to Staunton, Illinois, the community that would truly become their home.
It was in the classroom where Betty perhaps found her greatest calling. She earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Elementary Education from SIU-Edwardsville, then spent 31 remarkable years shaping young minds at Wolf Ridge Elementary in Bunker Hill. She didn’t just teach children — she believed in them, championed them, and remembered them. That signature smile of hers, warm and radiant on any given day, grew luminous whenever she crossed paths with one of her former students, now grown, and could see for herself the person they had become.
Betty Sue Chiti was never a woman to sit still. She volunteered as a certified Emergency Medical Technician with the local ambulance service and at the Staunton Community Hospital giving her time and skills when neighbors needed them most. She refereed high school girls’ volleyball, stepped in front of the camera as a professional model, and even appeared in television commercials. On the golf course, she achieved what most golfers only dream of — not one, but two holes-in-one. She swam, played tennis, and never missed a good game of Bunco.
She was, in every sense, fully alive — curious, capable, generous, and joyful. Betty Sue Chiti did not simply pass through this world. She brightened it. And the hundreds of lives she touched — as a teacher, a neighbor, a mother, a wife, and a friend — are her most enduring legacy.
Rest in the light you always gave so freely, Betty.
Services will be held on August 1st , 2026, at Williamsons Funeral Home in Staunton.
Visitation will start at 1pm. Pastor Nancy Hubert will lead the service at 3pm.
A Celebration of Life will follow the service at the VFW.
Memorials are suggested to Community Hospital of Staunton.
Williamson Funeral Home
