Betty Ann Mayhan

Betty Ann (Vondra) Mayhan

November 23, 1929 – June 15, 2023

Betty was born and raised in South Omaha.  She lived her entire life in Omaha and at every stage she was surrounded by loving family members. She cherished her Catholic faith, leading a prayerful life. She went to Assumption Grade School and St. John’s High School, at which she was Valedictorian of her class.  After graduating from the College of Saint Mary, she worked as a Medical Technologist, first in hospitals, then in a doctor’s office, where she would meet her future husband, Paul, who escorted his mother to the doctor.

Betty enjoyed experiencing other places through recreational traveling.  Her travels began while she was still in grade school. She would travel on the Union Pacific Railroad across the U.S., from California to New York.  Later, as an adult, but before she married, she traveled to Canada and Cuba.  She continued this love of travel with her husband and children.

Betty was proud of both her Czech heritage and her husband’s Croatian heritage. Her grandma would teach her Czech words, and Betty in turn would teach her grandma some English words.  She enjoyed cooking traditional Czech dishes and passing on Czech legends to her children. After Betty married, she enjoyed adding Croatian dishes to her cooking repertoire.

Betty enjoyed listening to many types of music and was an accomplished pianist. She played organ at Assumption Church before she was married and she also played organ at St. Thomas More Church, the church at which she and her husband were one of the first members. Betty passed on her love of music to her children.

Children brought joy to Betty. She doted on her grandchildren, and she volunteered in a Kindergarten class.  She and her husband also brought Communion to the homebound.

Betty liked to regale others with colorful stories of her life, including the time she fell into a manhole, and the time her tour bus was teetering on a cliff in Canada.

As Betty entered her late years, she would like to talk about the events, people, and pets of her past. While in a nursing home, she would try to think of ways she could help those who were living with her there, all the while suffering from heart failure for quite some time, not wanting to give up.  Family, prayer and the Eucharist remained of utmost importance to her to the very end.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Paul M. Mayhan. She is survived by her children: Tom Mayhan (Jackie), John Mayhan, Patricia Hire (Brian); grandchildren: Megan, Shannon and Carolyn Hire; great granddaughter, McKenna Hoeft; numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation begins Monday, July 10^th, 9AM at St. Thomas More Catholic Church (4804 Grover Street) with a Rosary at 10AM and Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30AM. Interment: Calvary Cemetery.

Memorials are suggested to St. Thomas More Catholic Church, Essential Pregnancy or the American Heart Association.