Betty Chappell Thayer

Betty C. Thayer died Monday night at 11:50 pm on November 2, 2015 at the age of 85. She was born September 12, 1930 to Gladys and Tom Chappell in Jacksonville, FL. She graduated from Jacksonville University in 1963, and earned her Masters degree in Social Work from Catholic University in 1966. Afterwards, she began a long, distinguished career as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Prince George's and Montgomery County. She specialized in Psychiatric Counseling, and in the latter stages of her career she was a sought-after expert in counseling those dealing with death and dying. She gave lectures at many of the hospice centers around the Washington DC area. She is survived by her son George Thayer, and grandchildren Thomas and Christina Thayer.

She bravely fought an 8 year battle with dementia and died peacefully, in her sleep. She was a strong, independent, educated woman. She was a mom, a daughter, a sister, a wife, a professional counselor (LCSW), and the first in her family to attend college. She loved her grandchildren and her cats. She loved to travel especially to Jackson Hole, Wyoming . She also loved reading, listening to music, The Golden Girls, her crossword puzzles, and Scrabble. A private family celebration of Betty's life will be held at Deep Creek Restaurant on Sunday December 27th. In lieu of flowers donations can be made in her name to the Alzheimer’s Foundation, http://www.alzfdn.org/