PORTAGE (WKZO-AM) — The 90th birthday of one of Portage’s most-visable and hardest-working public servants was celebrated during the Portage City Council’s meeting on Tuesday.
Betty Lee Ongley was honored with a resolution by Mayor Peter Strazdas, who compared her to the Energizer Bunny.
Ongley was the first and only woman to serve as the city’s mayor and has served on just about every group, committee, task force, organization and club in the community, usually as president.
She is also a former Kalamazoo County commissioner and a strong advocate for senior citizens and their rights.
“I didn’t realize that I would live so long,” Ongley said. “When I was a kid, when somebody lived to 60 or 65, they were old.”
Ongley said she keeps track of her children and grandchildren by email and iPhone, and many of them will be attending her big birthday bash.
“I expect that my family will be here from Alaska, Hawaii, California, Florida, New York City, and locally too,” Ongley said.
She credits her long productivity to strong genes and growing up on a farm.
– John McNeill
