Betty Key

Ms. Betty Ann Key (née Crane), age 72, passed away on Wednesday, August 18th, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. Betty was born in Hannibal, Missouri on November 28, 1948 to mother Georgia Ann Johnson Crane and father Morgan Hubert Crane.

Betty attended Monroe High School in Monroe, Missouri for three years, but graduated in the Class of 1966 from Palmyra High School. She attended the University of Missouri at Kirksville after high school, and completed her B.A. in Psychology years later at Columbia College. She earned a Master’s degree in Counseling from Lincoln University. Her career was in the legal system, starting at the St. Louis County Courthouse, and then many years at the Missouri Supreme Court, from which she retired. She loved working with clerks, attorneys, and judges from all over the state.

Betty has two daughters, Amanda Beth Key of Brooklyn, New York and Megan Kathleen Key of Atlanta, Georgia. She is preceded in death by her son, Jason Michael Key. She is survived by Amanda and her husband, Marshall Elliot Shuster and their children Sargent Key Shuster and Maya Eleanor Shuster, as well as Megan and her husband Omar Branson Zaki and their children Kahlil Emmett Zaki and Ramsey Orville Zaki. Her living siblings are Jim Crane, Joyce Bock, George Crane and Phyllis Crane.

She is also preceded in death by her parents, as well as siblings Jeri Baker, Emmett Crane, and Connie Wolf.

Betty was ambitious and intelligent-a real warrior with sardonic wit and an inquisitive mind. Born with a disability, Betty pushed past every obstacle in her pursuit of a full and fulfilling life. A Lutheran with a strong faith in God, she was dedicated to the service of others. She believed in forgiveness and second chances. So strong were her beliefs, that, from time to time, she even invited those in need to stay in her home in Jefferson City, Missouri. She was widely known as a caretaker and a guardian angel for those in need.

Betty was a mental health advocate, and as part of her training in counseling, she worked with foster children. For her practicum, she worked in the criminal justice system, counseling soon-to-be-released inmates on their careers, helping to prepare them for life outside prison.

Her true passion was food. She was an excellent cook and loved baking. When she moved to Atlanta, she would cook meals from scratch and hand them out to homeless people who lived near her apartment. She also volunteered at Hagar’s House, a shelter for women and children, where she prepared meals.

Stylish and colorful, Betty had a flair for the sartorial, and often sewed her own clothes. She expressed her interest in the visual arts through painting and sketching. Betty loved to travel and had visited China, France and Mexico. She thought of her car as freedom and took her daughters on many road trips up and down the East Coast, windows rolled down, music turned up and tuned into Oldies or Bruce Springsteen.

Betty was a parishioner at Faith Lutheran in Jefferson City, Missouri and more recently at Common Table in Decatur, Georgia.

A memorial service for Betty will be held at Common Table on Saturday, August 28th at 2:00 p.m. The address is 465 Clairemont Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030. Masks are required for in-person attendance. The service can be attended virtually via Zoom () . In lieu of flowers, Betty’s family asks that donations be made to Hagar’s House (www.decaturcooperativeministry.org ) or Common Table Lutheran Church (https://www.commontabledecatur.org/donate).