Betty B. Gehring, age 96, wife of ALCM founding member Philip Gehring, died Tuesday, February 11, 2025 in Oak Park, Illinois.
Betty, an accomplished violinist, graduated from Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio, where she met her lifelong love, Philip K. Gehring. They were married August 26, 1951 in her home town of Clear Lake, Iowa. The following year they both began graduate studies at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, where she earned her masters degree in music. They had three children.
Most of their years were spent in Valparaiso, Indiana, where they both taught at Valparaiso University. Betty also taught private violin lessons and played in several symphony orchestras. She participated for many years in music weeks at Interlochen Center for the Arts in Interlochen, Michigan, where she was a member of a quartet that played internationally. A number of years after retirement, they moved to Oak Park, Illinois in 2009 to be closer to family members. She was a member of First United Church of Oak Park.
Betty is survived by her loving children Kristin (Walter Miller) Gehring, Thomas Gehring, and Martin (Ruth) Gehring; and her grandchildren Gehring Miller, Ilse Miller, Mahala (Marla Devault) Miller, Tatiana Gehring, William Gehring, and Allison Gehring. In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her husband of 69 years, who died in 2020, her daughter-in-law Cathy Gehring, and her granddaughters Larisa and Alexandra “Shura” Gehring.
The family will hold a memorial service at a later date.
