Betty Comes was well-known for her work in the McKean County Courthouse as well as with the local Republican party and her church, but perhaps will best be remembered for her sense of humor and smile.
News of Comes’ death on Sunday at the age of 93 brought a reaction from several of her friends and cohorts, who shared memories and anecdotes of her life.
Joanne Bly, McKean County Court administrator, remembered Comes as a real “people” person during her 32 years with the county.
“I was very sad to hear of the passing of Betty Comes,” Bly said. “When I first started working at the courthouse, she served as the recorder of deeds. Sometime after retiring from that office she ran successfully for jury commissioner and held that office for several years.
“I enjoyed working with Betty in that capacity,” Bly said. “She was truly a genuine people person and loved serving the citizens of McKean County for many years.”
Harrijane Hannon Moore, who had worked for years with Comes in the courthouse, said she, too, will miss her friend. Hannon Moore had served as a county commissioner and register of wills in the courthouse.
“I’ve known Betty forever and ever,” Hannon Moore said. “When she was in the recorder of deeds office, I was downstairs in the commissioners’ office, so we worked under the same roof for several years.”
Hannon Moore described her friend and her sense of humor as “a trip,” as Comes always made funny remarks and usually pulled laughs from others.
“She was also very active in the Republican Party and with the local Republican women,” Hannon Moore continued. “At one time there was a McKean County Federation of Republican Women and Betty was involved in that. She was also an officer with the state Republican women … and a committee person for the Republican party. She wore many hats for the Republicans.”
Hannon Moore recalled a highlight of Comes’ Republican career occurred when former Gov. Tom Ridge, who later served as the first U.S. secretary of Homeland Security, visited McKean County in the 1990s for a dinner in Bradford that honored Comes for her work with the party.
Ridge sat next to Comes during the event and lauded her great work with the party.
Hannon Moore said Comes was also “a wonderful” cook and baker who enjoyed throwing parties for others.
“Anytime she had family or friends at her house, believe me, it was an invitation you always accepted,” she said. “Rest assured, you were going to have something worth eating.”
Rev. Tom Pierotti, pastor of Emanuel Lutheran Church in Bradford, said Comes will also be missed by him and his congregation.
“She was definitely a pillar of the church and a lovely, lovely lady,” Pierotti said, adding Comes had been a longtime member of the church. “Some people referred to her as Aunt Betty — she knew just about everybody.”
Pierotti said when he first arrived at the church in 2012, Comes was providing the only confirmation instruction for a teenage girl enrolled in the program at that time.
“So I was very impressed with her from the very beginning,” he added. “She was effusive and had compliments for people. Everybody really loved her.”
Pierotti said he found out after Comes’ death that his mother, who had grown up in East Kane, had belonged to the same 4H Club with Comes when they were little girls.
“Apparently, she and Betty went down to Harrisburg for some type of 4H gathering” years ago, Pierotti said of his mother’s old friendship with Comes as well as the many lives she had touched in her nine decades.
Hannon Moore perhaps summed up Comes’ life best when she said, “Betty was a very good Republican politician, a very good mother, a very good friend and a very good cook. She had it all.”
