Elizabeth Waldron Chinnery |
Return to GWCCS HOME Page |
January 17, 1939 - April 8, 1998
Elizabeth Waldron Chinnery
(Betsy), age 59, died of complications of cancer Wednesday, April 8, 1998, at
Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC. Betsy was born and grew up in Kansas
City, Missouri, and graduated from Southwest High School in that city. She attended
college at the University of Missouri in both Columbia and Kansas City, Missouri,
majoring in business administration.
For four years, Betsy was the co-publications-editor of the Greater Washington
Coalition for Cancer Survivors (GWCCS) and the co-facilitator of the cancer
support group at Sibley Memorial Hospital, "One Day at a Time."
Betsy, who lived in Montgomery
County for 29 years, was a member of St. James Episcopal Church in Potomac,
Maryland, and in the early years of that parish served on a number of church
committees as well as a member of the choir and as a Sunday school teacher.
She was a pack and den leader in the boy scout program and a troop leader in
the girl scout program, served as a girl’s soccer team coach and most recently
as a boy’s soccer team manager; all in Montgomery County, Maryland.
In addition to raising five children and two grandchildren, Betsy was active
in politics and at one time served as the Co-Chairman of the Democratic Party
of Sarpy County, Nebraska and on several advisory committees to the Montgomery
County (Maryland) Council. Betsy also planned and oversaw for several years
the counties first recycling center, located in Rockville, and Project CARE
to assure the safety of county students traveling to and from their schools.
Betsy was the co-founder of one of the world’s first computer stores, The
Computer Workshop, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, and served as its Secretary
and Treasurer from 1975 to 1985. She then spent several years as a legal assistant
to several Washington, DC, area attorneys.
Betsy leaves behind, her husband of 38 years, five adult children, eleven grandchildren,
her parents and a brother. All continue to love her very much.
Betsy was a sensitive, strong,
and courageous woman and a loving and caring mother. She faced life's challenges
without complaint, and with considerable bravery and confidence. She was and
is an inspiration to those who knew her, living her life to the fullest and
bringing much love into the lives of her family and friends.
Throughout her life she maintained a love of learning and helping people. Her
children say that Betsy was always there for them - - making kindergarten sandwiches
that looked like pinwheels or butterflies and cheering and clapping at five
sets of sports teams and school events.
Among the helper projects her family recalls were teaching second grade classes
to bake bread, working with her daughters to gather signatures for a petition
allowing a girls' soccer team, knowing just who to go to for contacts for school
reports (and helping procrastinators to type them), reading the Army Times and
keeping her military son up to date, being a level-headed mentor for a novice
driver sideswiped by a U-Haul, and trusting her children to be the adults she
had nurtured them to become. Still, once they flew the coop, she always was
only a phone call away.
While Betsy thus served as a best friend and protector, she also knew when to
say "No!" to teenagers and when to firmly advise, "Make a choice
and stick to it." Her memory continues to guide and teach those who knew
and loved her and cherish her remembrance as part of their soul.