Betty Covington Boaz Oropallo
October 6, 2024
AUBURN - Mrs. Betty Covington Boaz Oropallo, 97, passed in the comfort of home Sunday, October 6, 2024, two days shy of her 98th Birthday.
Born in Franklin, Ky., Betty was the daughter of the late John Norris and Elizabeth Brooke (Lewis) Boaz. She had been a resident of Auburn and Niles since 1951 when she arrived in New York as a staff member of Tennessee Gas Transmission Company and married Harry Alexander Oropallo, who predeceased her in 1992. In over 70 years in New York, she never lost her Southern accent.
A graduate of Ward-Belmont College for Young Women (now Belmont University) in Nashville, Tenn., Betty was an active volunteer with Herman Avenue PTA, Mercy Hospital Auxiliary, Seven Lakes Girl Scout Council, Cayuga County Democrats, United Fund/United Way of Cayuga County, RSVP Advisory Committee, Unity House of Cayuga County, Inc., Auburn Housing Authority, and the Cayuga County Chapter of the Red Cross. She was proud to have been the first woman to serve on the Auburn City and Cayuga County Planning Boards and enjoyed her work as a member of the Russellville, Ky. Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution noting her ancestor Daniel DuVal, aide-de-camp to Generals Lafayette and Von Steuben and Brevet Lieutenant Colonel at the siege of Yorktown, and as a founding member of the Simpson County (Kentucky) Historical Society. In 1960, she received the Woman of the Year Award from the Auburn Service League and in 1986 she was recognized by the Cayuga County Chapter of the American Diabetes Association for her contributions to the community.
Through her positions at Mercy Hospital, she was encouraged to pursue her New York State Nursing Home Administrator License and upon obtaining it, she served as the Assistant Administrator of Mercy Hospital/Mercy Health and Rehabilitation Center for nearly 20 years and was then appointed the first Administrator of the Cayuga County Nursing Home, from which she retired in 1992.
In her home life, Betty was an accomplished seamstress and constructed everything from home decor to Halloween costumes to her daughter's wedding dress. She prepared delicious food, one specialty being her roasted butternut squash; the most memorable version from a late 1970s Christmas when she dropped the dish on the way to the dining table, immediately after which a very un-Christmas-like sentiment was loudly heard from the kitchen.
Her travels brought her throughout the United States, including Hawaii, and Europe and back to Kentucky every year, a trip which was incomplete without a stop at the Cave City Butte Knit store for some new outfits. She lived a long and fulfilling life, always close to family.
She is survived by son, Harry Norris Oropallo (Haidee); daughter, Mary Brooke Oropallo (Kristopher Scholl); her beloved grandson, Henry Tobias Scholl; numerous nieces and nephews and dear friends: Judy Doyle, Carmela "Chickie" Germano, Beverly Ann Scholl and Nelsa Selover.
In addition to her parents and husband, Betty was predeceased by her sister, Mary Lewis Boaz Etscorn and nephew, John Boaz Etscorn.
Burial services are private and arranged by Pettigrass Funeral Home.
Please consider a contribution in memory of Betty to Cayuga County Office for the Aging, Hospice of Central New York and of the Finger Lakes, or Finger Lakes SPCA of CNY.