Betty LeClere, who owned Betty’s Flowers & Gifts at 9138 Broadway Ave. since 1998, died April 21. She was 79.
LeClere had already lived in Brookfield for nearly 30 years, working more than 20 as a manager for Osco drug stores, before she bought her namesake store and started her career as a retail florist. In 2018, LeClere told the Landmark she decided to strike out on her own after Osco decided to move its corporate office from Oak Brook to Salt Lake City, Utah.
Instead of following the company, LeClere took advantage of its offer to pay tuition for employees looking to further their educations. She attended the American Floral Art School in Chicago and got experience working for a florist in Berwyn. After she eyed a storefront in Western Springs, LeClere’s husband, Paul LeClere, who died in 2009, convinced her to buy the former Ardon’s Flower Shop on Broadway Avenue.
LeClere in 2018 attributed the flower store’s success to word of mouth, local connections and reliable hours.
“You’ve got to talk to everybody,” she said then. “It’s just funny, once you start talking, one thing leads to the next.”
LeClere is a former vice president and president of the Brookfield Chamber of Commerce. She is also a former president of the Brookfield-Riverside Rotary Club. In 2018, she served as a director of the Chamber of Commerce.
Last year, the Brookfield village board honored LeClere for her tenure as a business owner and her involvement in the Brookfield community. Assistant Village Manager Stevie Ferrari presented LeClere with an original painting of Broadway Avenue with Betty’s Flowers at the center, and Village President Michael Garvey read a proclamation that designated the 9100 block of Broadway Avenue as Honorary Betty LeClere Avenue.
LeClere is survived by her son, former Brookfield Trustee David LeClere; her daughter, April Tralewski; her grandchildren, Kaylee LeClere, Davey LeClere Jr., Emily Tralewski and Michael Tralewski Jr.; and her siblings, Shirley LeClere, Robert Heavrin and Darlene Petkus. Her funeral service was held Friday, April 26, at Johnson-Nosek Funeral Home.
