Elizabeth M. Bechtel

Elizabeth “Isa” Bechtel, an active and prominent community volunteer and cancer survivor advocate, passed away on March 21, 2025, at her home in Slatington, PA surrounded by her immediate family. She was 89 years old.

Born in Pottsville, PA on August 15, 1935 and raised in nearby New Philadelphia, PA, Elizabeth was the daughter of the late James and Catherine (McGarrity) Edwards. She graduated from Pottsville Catholic High School in 1953. From 1953-1956, she completed her nursing school studies at the Misericordia Hospital in Philadelphia, PA, where she met a young pharmacy student, Joseph Bechtel, who attended the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, located a half mile away from the hospital campus.

Introduced by a school friend, Elizabeth began a relationship that would produce eight children, 24 grandchildren, and 14 great grandchildren. Married on October 19, 1957, the couple enjoyed nearly 67 years of marriage until her husband’s death in May 2024.

In 1957, the newlywed couple moved to Palmerton, PA, and Elizabeth worked as a nurse at the local hospital. Her first child arrived in September 1958, followed mostly in consecutive years by seven additional children.

After her husband purchased Moyer’s Drugstore in Slatington, PA, she moved to the new town with her family in 1961. Very quickly, the Bechtel family became immersed in the civic life of the borough. Along with her husband, Elizabeth attended and became an active member of the Assumption BVM Catholic Church, joining the church’s Altar and Rosary Society and serving as its president for multiple terms. She joined the Junior Women’s Club, volunteered at both the Northern Lehigh Swimming Pool and Food Bank, served as a campaign worker for the American Heart Association and the March of Dimes, and was a member of the PTA and the Serra Club for Catholic vocations.

Cheering on their children and grandchildren, she and her husband were fixtures at various athletic competitions and musical/theater performances throughout the region for more than 50 years. Elizabeth also supported customers of her husband’s business, Bechtel’s Pharmacy, by providing free blood pressure readings weekly at the store.

After surviving a bout with breast cancer in 1981, Elizabeth initiated a long association with the American Cancer Society’s Reach for Recovery program. As an advocate and peer counselor, she assisted many local women in coming to terms with their health issues and by directing them to appropriate resources to help them battle the deadly disease.

In addition to her husband, Joseph, Elizabeth was predeceased by her son, Bernard, in 2015, her sister Margaret Powers, and her brothers James, Thomas and Joseph. She is survived by her two daughters, Joann McCracken (Julian) and Mary Surdovel (Joseph Boyle), and her sons Edward (Louise), John (JoAnn), Joseph (Diane), James (Kathy) and Leonard (Max Aguilar). She also leaves behind 24 grandchildren, 14 great grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11AM on Thursday, March 27, 2025, at Assumption BVM Catholic Church, 649 W. Washington Street, Slatington. Family and friends may pay their respects from 6 to 8PM on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at Harding Funeral Home, 25-27 N. 2nd St, Slatington, and 10 to 11AM Thursday at church. Private family interment will follow at the parish cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Assumption BVM Church in Slatington, or the Lehigh Valley American Cancer Society, c/o the funeral home.