Betty Jean Bech

West Springfield –Betty Jean (Hagen) Bech, 80, passed away on Tuesday, December 12th. Born on November 4, 1943 to Arthur Herman Hagen and Freda Eleanor Harvey Hagen, she was a resident of West Springfield for over 38 years. She worked for many years as an administrative coordinator at Marathon House (now Phoenix House) in Springfield. She also worked as a care giver in West Springfield. She enjoyed extensive traveling in her younger years, traveling to Europe and across the US. In later years she enjoyed day trips across southern New England and taking summertime swims at state parks. Betty Jean was a loving wife to her husband Charles who passed away in 1999, and a devoted mother to her surviving sons, Nathan Bech of West Springfield and Jeremy Bech of Westfield. She loved her surviving brother, Harvey Hagen and his wife Patricia of Barrington, NJ, and 4 sisters, Janet Hagen Proulx of Glendale, AZ, Carol Hagen of Mansfield Center, CT, Susan Hagen of Belton, SC, and Nancy Hagen and her husband Donald Berg of Willington, CT. A visitation is scheduled for Tuesday, December 19th from 4-6pm and a funeral service will be held on Wednesday, December 20th at 9:30am, both at TOOMEY-O'BRIEN Funeral Home, 1043 Westfield St., West Springfield. Burial will follow at Greenwood Union Cemetery in Rye, NY. In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution in Betty Jean’s name to the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Western Mass 1221 Main St Suite 100 Holyoke,MA 01040, or namiwm.org.