ELIZABETH “BETTY” L. ASHPOLE, age 87, of Morrison, IL, died at her home on Saturday, January 10, 2026.

Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 PM on Friday, January 16, 2026, at the Bosma-Gibson Funeral Home in Prophetstown, IL. Cremation rites will be accorded following the visitation. A memorial mass will be held at 10:30 AM on Saturday, January 17, 2026, at St. Catherine Catholic Church in Prophetstown, Illinois, with Rev. Fr. David J. Reese, Pastor, officiating. Interment will take place at Grove Hill Cemetery at a later date. A memorial has been established.

Betty was born on August 8, 1938, in Sterling, IL, to Thomas P. and Helen C. (Sauer) Burke. She was educated in the Catholic grade schools in Sterling and attended Newman Catholic High School.  On September 22, 1956, Betty married Charles Eugene “Gene” Ashpole in Sterling, IL. Betty was first employed at Woolworth’s in Sterling and later at Smith’s Trust and Savings in Morrison. Following her marriage to Gene, she devoted herself to being a homemaker, a role she embraced with love and dedication. She was a faithful member of St. Catherine Catholic Church in Prophetstown, where she was active in the Women’s Club. Betty’s greatest joy in life was spending time with her family and friends, especially attending her children’s and grandchildren’s activities.

She is survived by her loving husband, Gene Ashpole; three daughters, Laura (Kent) Hawk of Erie, IL, Kim Vock of Sterling, IL, and Bridget (Cary) Schubert of Mesa, AZ; two sons, Todd (Marlene) Ashpole of Geneseo, IL and Troy Ashpole of Lyndon, IL; eighteen grandchildren and twenty-two great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by one daughter, Dr. Michele Lee Ashpole; three sisters, Lois Frank, Patricia Tiesman, and Billie Ebersole; and one brother, John Burke.