Memorial Service for Betsey Ryan
We will celebrate Betsey's life at St. Michael's on Saturday, January 28th at 10am. All members of the congregation and community are invited to attend this memorial Eucharist and reception that will follow.
On Saturday, March 17th at 2pm the Ryan family will hold a short service at Maravilla followed by a reception and party in honor of Betsey's life. All are welcome.
Elizabeth Dimock RYAN
March 14th 1920 - January 16th 2012
Betsey died peacefully in her sleep surrounded by her children. She was 91, having led a cheerful life filled with sympathy and care for others. It is a blessing that her last illness was brief and that she retained her keen sense of humor and love of life to the final moments.
Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and educated at Bryn Mawr and the University of New Mexico, Betsey was also a member of the first class of the American Institute for Foreign Trade, Glendale, Arizona (now Thunderbird) and earned a teaching degree from Fresno State.
She was a teacher, a principal, and a fierce believer in social justice. She taught at the Laguna Blanca School from 1966 -1970, and was the founding principal of St. Paulʼs Episcopal Day School of Ventura where she worked for most of the next two decades. She enjoyed her retirement at Maravilla where she was Resident Council President for two years.
In addition to raising four children after being widowed at an early age, she was devoted to volunteer work, including Hospice of Santa Barbara. She was a founding member of the Santa Barbara studio of the Recording for the Blind where she was a weekly volunteer for three decades. Plus, as she joked, she ran the best short-order cafe between LA and SF that served the worldʼs best fruitcake loved even by those who hate fruitcake.
Her deep spirituality found its expression in part as the first Eucharistic female lay minister in Santa Barbara, and as a frequent reader of the Word of God, including at All Saints by-the Sea and her beloved St. Michaelʼs in Isla Vista.
Betsey deeply believed that children everywhere deserved to enjoy their rights to education and health in a world at peace. Her ideals were matched with action: she was the first director of Operation Kids of Goleta, and she supported the mission of the United Nations to achieve a better world for those less fortunate.
In one of her final reflections she wrote: "I want memories of my life to give friends and family joy not sorrow." For the many who have been touched by Betsey's good cheer, righteousness, care and love...there is much joy to celebrate.
At Betseyʼs request, remembrances in lieu of flowers may be made to St. Michael's Church; Planned Parenthood; Recording for the Blind and Dyslectic; or UNICEF. The family would like to extend the greatest appreciation to Serenity House of Santa Barbara which deserves continued support for the care and compassion of its staff.