Betty Fingerhut, 97, of Livingston, NJ passed away at her home at Inglemoor Care Center on Sunday, March 15, 2020. Betty was born in Albany, NY to Russian immigrant parents, Nathan and Ida Vener. After graduation from high school, while working as a legal secretary, she "accidentally" joined the Marine Corps after a photo of her standing near a recruitment poster was published in a local newspaper, along with the caption: "Betty Vener was the first girl from Albany to join the Marines.”
While the caption was not true, Betty did want to serve her country, and so she went to New York City, enlisted, and worked her way through the ranks as a radio and telephone technician at a time when women in the military had limited opportunity. After being stationed in Washington, Omaha, Camp Lejeune, and San Francisco, Betty was discharged as a sergeant and went on to be one of the first women to attend college on the GI Bill. Betty subsequently followed her lifelong dream of attending drama school and enjoyed a post-war career in acting and directing. She was a member of the Screen Actors Guild and appeared in numerous movies, television shows, industrial films, radio spots, and off-Broadway productions.
Betty spent the last four years of her life at Inglemoor Care and Rehabilitation Center in Livingston, NJ. She was loved and respectfully cared for by devoted staff, all of whom appreciated her warmth, wit, and sense of humor.
Betty was predeceased by her husband, Jerome Fingerhut. She was loved and will be greatly missed by her six children, their spouses, her fourteen grandchildren, their spouses, and her eight great-grandchildren. A private graveside service was held at the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery on Wednesday, March 18th. A full military funeral for extended family and friends will take place at a later date.
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