Bette Gerike Obituary

Bette Ann Gerike, 87, passed away on August 4, 2025, while in hospice in Berlin, New Jersey after a long battle with cancer. Bette was born in 1937, in Queens, New York City, as Elizabeth Ann Gulczynski, the only child of Edward F. and Julia P. Gulczynski. The family surname was changed by her parents in 1949 to Gullen. She grew up and attended catholic elementary, junior and high school in Flushing, NY.

She graduated with a BA in Liberal Arts from Marymount Manhattan College in 1959. Married Albert Theodore (Ted) Gerike Jr. of Merion Avenue and moved to Haddonfield in 1960. She received her teaching certificate in Haddonfield and worked as a substitute teacher. She then taught preschool at the Anita Metzger School of the Initial Teaching Alphabet until 1976 when she returned to school and graduated in the first class of the Paralegal Institute of Philadelphia. She began her second career as a land use paralegal for Brandt Haughey, Penberthy, Lewis, and Hyland, in Haddonfield and Moorestown and Ballard Spahr in Voorhees until retirement in 2009.

Bette lived for 65 years on Chestnut Street in Haddonfield where she raised three children. She was known for her love of fine dining, traveling, and dancing. She was a volunteer at Contact 609 and Interfaith Caregivers for many years. She was also known for her dedicated Catholic faith. She is survived by her daughter Lisa G. McLaughlin, and sons Theodore A. Gerike (Laoma), and Stephen E. Gerike (Laura), 9 beloved grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.