Elizabeth (Betty) Fenn died peacefully at home August 25. She was 99 and the oldest known resident of South Egremont, Mass.
Born Elizabeth Williams in Hartford, Conn., she was the daughter of James and Agnes Williams, both from England.
As a young girl, Betty honed her talents as an athlete, musician, journalist and actor. She was also an adventurer, as evidenced by her decision to enroll at the University of Texas, where she joined the basketball team and studied journalism. She graduated from the School of Journalism with her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1938 and returned to Hartford, where she worked in various capacities at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts.
Betty met Walter Fenn in his hometown of Lakeville, Conn. They eloped in 1941 and moved to Jacksonville, Fla., where Walter trained pilots to fly the planes he had helped build for Pratt and Whitney. After the war, they moved to Canton, Conn., and raised four daughters.
Betty continued her interests in music and theater, playing cello with the Hartford Symphony and performing with the Mark Twain Masquers and in musical comedies with Canton Benefit Productions. She also supported her daughters’ school activities as president of the PTA. She would burst into song with her deep, well-toned voice at the drop of a hat, and her daughters still know the lyrics to most of the period’s Broadway musicals.
Betty and Walter built a vacation home together near Catamount Ski Area, and they moved there permanently in 1960. Betty worked and volunteered at Catamount and was active with the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, and numerous book clubs. She and Walter were world travelers, a gourmet chef team, and diehard skiers. They taught their daughters that anything was possible. Betty passed on to her daughters her love of language (she had studied Latin for seven years and instilled the importance of the properly spoken word as a family value) and theater as well as her commitment to exercise and healthy eating. Jumping up from the dinner table to dance to inspiring music was a regular family activity she sparked. She read constantly, kept abreast of current events, and became an avid Red Sox fan. Among her parting words, while surrounded by friends and family, was the question, “When does the dancing begin?”
Betty will be dearly missed by friends and family, including her daughters, Letitia Fenn Glenn and her husband Arthur Dale Glenn of Durango, Colo.; Leslie Roberts Fenn and her partner Judy Hartling of Springfield, Mass.; Lucinda Fenn-Vermeulen of South Egremont; and Lizbeth Fenn Genito and her husband James Genito of Rapid City, S.D. Betty’s loving family includes her sister Amy Vertefeuille; grandchildren Amanda Fenn Soriano, Taaron Glenn Sherman, Steven Dale Glenn, Sidni Lyn Glenn Reddick, Lance Vermeulen, Cheri Collins, and Bradford Vermeulen; great-grandchildren Autumn Tonge, Hailey Glenn Sherman, Griffin Glenn, Gillian Glenn, Melody Lynn Reddick, Candice Reddick Ebersohl, Ashley Collins, Braden Kurt Collins, and Chase Stryker Vermeulen; and great-great-grandchildren Freyja Desmond Tonge, and Gracelyn Ebersohl.
She was predeceased by her sisters Letitia Williams and Nancy McGuinness and brother James Williams, as well as her son-in-law Ken Vermeulen.
A memorial celebration will take place in July 2016 to celebrate Betty’s 100th birthday.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Project Native, a non-profit native farm, nursery and educational center, c/o FINNERTY & STEVENS FUNERAL HOME, 426 Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230 who is caring for the arrangements. To send remembrances to her family or sign the guestbook go to www.finnertyandstevens.com.
Betty’s family is extremely grateful to numerous people who supported her over the past years — her many friends; her dedicated healthcare team, especially Dr. Edward Weiner; and to Ken Vermeulen, who welcomed her into his home. They particularly appreciate Leslie Leacock, who came to Betty as an aide and is leaving as family. Her dedication, patience, and sense of humor brightened Betty’s final year immeasurably.
Betty’s resilience, inner strength, and passion gave her 99 years and 50 days of life and 51 years of marriage. Dance on, Betty!
