Rosa Benedetta Theresa Ricciuli was born March 23, 1931, to Nicola Salvatore Ricciuli and Rocchina Polichetti in Youngstown, Ohio. Her siblings were John, Victor, and Janie. While she was born in the U.S., her family returned to Italy for some years until they returned when she was in the second grade changing their family name to Richley. Rosa became Rose “Betty” (as everyone knew her) Richley until she married William Thomas Bancroft in 1951 in Niles, Ohio, and had a son, William Thomas Bancroft II, who was her pride and joy. They remained in Ohio near their family until they moved to MO. When Betty wasn’t working as an administrative assistant, she ran the books at her son’s Kawasaki shop until he passed.

Betty loved to travel visiting Hawaii, Italy, and Tahiti. She enjoyed playing slots at the boat, gardening, canning, and breeding plants in her very large sunroom. Over the years, she enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren, teaching them how to garden, put puzzles together, and cook. In later years, she loved going out to eat with family and watching the great-grandchildren play or listening to them tell wild stories.

Betty passed peacefully after being recently widowed after 73 years of marriage on February 11, 2024, at 92 years old, leaving behind three grandchildren: Thomas Bancroft, Rocchina Bruner, and William (Bill) Thomas Bancroft III, and great-grandchildren: Jaxon, Karina, Evelyn, Remington, Kipton, Ryker, Billy, and Lincoln.

Arrangements by Langsford Funeral Home, 115 SW 3rd Street, Lee’s Summit, MO 64063