- April 20, 2026
Betty Jo Canard, 91, passed away peacefully on April 14, 2026. Born March 13, 1935, in Mountain View, Arkansas, she was the daughter of Josephine and Lincoln Hopper and sister of Billy Hopper.
She married Curtis Gene Canard in 1949 and was a devoted mother to five children: Ron Canard (Kalamazoo, MI), Bob Canard (Gainesville, FL), Shirley (deceased, Portage, MI), Nancy Burt (Ormond Beach, FL), and Colette Atkins (Bronx, NY and Ormond Beach, FL). She is also survived by 17 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren, and several other family members.
Betty spent 50 years in Michigan and worked for many years in Kalamazoo’s paper mills. She was a longtime member of Yorkville Community Church and Gull Lake’s Ladies of the Lake organization. She later lived in Summerfield, Florida where she was a member of Village View Community Church. In 2016, she moved to Ormond Beach, Florida, where she became a member of Ormond Beach Presbyterian Church and loved attending monthly Waterfront Group events. She spent many happy hours swimming in her daughter’s pool, visiting thrift shops and tag sales, seeking out BOGOs at Publix, and watching several romantic Netflix series. Her pride and joy was her adoring Maltese, “CoCo”.
She was known for her warmth, hospitality, and devotion to family and friends. Her faith was unwavering. She loved cooking, gardening, fishing at Gull Lake, traveling, music, and time with loved ones.
A memorial service will be held at Ormond Beach Presbyterian Church on Friday, May 8 at 4:00 and a summer 2026 celebration of life will be held at Yorkville Community Church in Richland, Michigan.
