Helen Elizabeth Clayton Kingsbery, 89, of Shrewsbury died on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 at the Meridian Hospice Care Unit at Riverview Medical Center, after a brief but virulent illness.

Mrs. Kingsbery was born on January 6, 1926 at Paul Kimball Hospital in Lakewood and resided in Fort Lee and several shore towns growing up, attending grammar school at St. Margaret’s in Spring Lake, St. Rose High School (class of 1944) in Belmar and Georgian Court College in Lakewood.

In August 1952, Betty met Walt, the love of her life. The couple married on March 21, 1953 and began a fifty-six year life together of love and dedication to each other and their three sons. The couple began married life together in a small apartment on Throckmorton Street in Red Bank, an apartment with floors so sloped they swore their oldest son learned to walk on a slant. The wife of an accountant at Price Waterhouse, Walt’s work took them from Shrewsbury to Chagrin Falls, Ohio in 1975, to Los Angeles California in 1981, to New York in 1987 and home to Spring Lake in 1988.

During the course of her life, she was a member of numerous religious, civic and charitable organizations. She enjoyed playing tennis and to a somewhat lesser extent, bridge. Mostly, she was a loving wife and mother whose greatest joy was in caring for her family.

Mrs. Kingsbery was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Walton W. Kingsbery, Jr., who passed away on February 20, 2010. Also predeceasing her were her parents, James Lawrence Clayton and Mary Bruns Clayton, her sister, Marie Frances Spring and her brother, George Joseph Clayton.

She is survived by her three sons, Walton W. Kingsbery III and his wife Tara (Maloney) of Shrewsbury, James Clayton Kingsbery and his wife Mary Louise (Curran) of Short Hills and Rumson, and Peter C. Kingsbery and his wife Christine (Burns) of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

Also surviving are thirteen grandchildren, Walton W. Kingsbery IV and his wife Mina (Yassaee), Catherine E. Kingsbery, Joseph P. Kingsbery, James C. Kingsbery Jr. and his wife Kathryn (Vernon), Paul C. Kingsbery and his wife, Courtney (Shanney), Edward W. Kingsbery and his wife Jessica (Ulrich), Caroline B. Kingsbery, William F. Kingsbery, Kyle M. Kingsbery, Ian T. Kingsbery, Seamus D. Kingsbery, Duncan O. Kingsbery, and Phelan B.T. Kingsbery, and three great-grandchildren, Grace Elizabeth Kingsbery, Mary Vernon Kingsbery and Walton W. Kingsbery V.

Mrs. Kingsbery is also survived by her sister-in-law and best friend, Mary Jane Clayton, and her nephews, Michael Clayton and Edward Clayton, their wives and children.

Mrs. Kingsbery was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease six years ago and spent the last year of her life as a resident of the Reflections unit for Alzheimers patients at Brandywine at the Sycamore in Shrewsbury. Her family is grateful for the kind and attentive care she received from all of her care-givers there, offering special thanks to Claudia, Patricia, Amanda and Freda.

Visitation will be held on Friday, May 22, 2015 from 4-8 PM at the O’Brien Funeral Home, 2028 Highway 35, Wall, New Jersey. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, May 23, 2015 at Noon at St. Catharine Catholic Church, 215 Essex Avenue, Spring Lake, N.J. Interment will follow in St. Catharine Cemetery, Sea Girt. NJ.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Catholic Relief Services, P.O. Box 17090, Baltimore, MD 21297-0303 or the charity of your choice.