Born in the East End of London to a family with four elder sisters and one elder brother, and followed by a younger sister, Betty, as she was known, grew up in a large family. Although as children, they were not always together, and despite two of the sisters emigrating to the USA and Australia, the sisters stayed close all their lives (David, the brother died in the war).
As a young woman Betty trained as a dressmaker, so that she ‘would be able to afford beautiful clothes’. She always had a designer’s eye and did indeed make beautiful clothes. Taking fabric, a pair of scissors and using her feel for design, she would create something beautiful from her own ingenuity. Even in her eighties and nineties, and with very poor eyesight, she would comment about the cut or fit of something that any of us (and anyone else!) was wearing. She missed very little, either visually or in any other way.
One of the things Betty was most proud of was working on the ambulances in Leeds during the war (to where the family had been evacuated). Betty, aged 16, met her husband Frank at a Jewish youth club dance in London, and they married in Leeds in 1942. It was an appropriate meeting for two people who loved to dance, and they danced most of their lives, in latter years taking up ballroom and sequence dancing.
Frank and Betty had three children, Rosemary, Marion and Brian, and spent the family years in Essex on the outskirts of London. Betty helped Frank with his shipping and forwarding business, travelling all over the world with him on business, and managing to visit her sisters Valerie and Jean and their children in Australia and the USA. On retirement Frank and Betty moved to the Southend area, living near two of Betty’s sisters, Flora and Stella. This was a time for plenty of dancing, theatre visits, meals out, and family visits. Always perceptive, supportive and full of fun, Betty was important to all her children and (four) grandchildren. Even in her last few years Betty gave this same pleasure to some of her carers. ‘Betty is the most intelligent woman I know, you can talk to her about anything’ said one carer, and ‘Betty is the funniest, wittiest person I have met’ said another.
Betty and Frank celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary last year in Cromer, where they had spent 3 ½ years in a care home, and from where they enjoyed visits to and from family in Norfolk. A few months ago they moved to Otto Schiff in Golders Green, where they were able to spend time together in a very comfortable and supportive environment. Betty will be missed, but very warmly remembered.
Marion Chalmers