Elizabeth Allee Ginsburg

Betsy was predeceased by her mother, Jake Hinds Allee, her father, Walter G. Allee, Jr., and her sister, Dale Allee Davis. She is survived by her husband of fifty years, Guss Ginsburg, and her children: Rebecca Allee Ginsburg (Scott Pepin), Melissa Allee Ginsburg, and Clayton Walter Ginsburg (Virginia Niehaus); her grandson, Jacob Pepin; and her sister, Jennie Allee-Walsh.

Betsy grew up in New Orleans and graduated from Newman School in 1963, then went on to Mary Baldwin University in Virginia, earning a BA in English in 1967, and Emory University in Atlanta in 1969, where she earned a Masters in Library Science.

Following graduate school, Betsy moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, where she worked as a periodicals librarian at the University of Virginia’s Alderman Library and became involved with the theater group the Virginia Players. She returned to New Orleans in 1972, where she worked as a reference librarian at the New Orleans Public Library.

She met Guss through a friend while attending the New Orleans Symphony. Betsy and Guss Ginsburg married on March 16, 1974, at Temple Sinai on St. Charles. The new couple moved to Houston, Texas, and started their family. Betsy was a member of Congregation Beth Israel in Houston until moving back to New Orleans in 2012.

Betsy devoted her energy and talents to raising her three children, then embarked on a second career in education. She worked at the School for Little Children in Bellaire, Texas, where she was a beloved preschool teacher for over a decade. In 1996, she combined her skills as a librarian with her love of children and books, and served as Head Librarian at St. Francis Episcopal School in Houston until her retirement in 2009.

Betsy was a talented artist with a great eye for design. She collected and curated beautiful things and created warmth and elegance in every place she lived. She opened her home to friends and family, and always welcomed anyone who needed a place to go on holidays. Together with her husband Guss, she hosted wonderful parties where everyone felt at home. A passionate gardener, she tended hundreds of caladiums, bromeliads, and begonias. She loved animals, especially dogs. She nurtured a deep connection to place, especially New Orleans and Perdido Bay, Alabama, where her close extended family gathered every summer.

Her friends and family remember her with great affection, for her lively and sly sense of humor, her love of books, theater, music, and the arts, and her abiding and close friendships over many years. Her addictive laugh, and her love of beautiful things enriched every room she was in. Her smile and laugh made everyone share her delight at being together.

One of Betsy’s great gifts was a deep sense of empathy and kindness, born out of her own experiences with depression. She transformed her painful experiences into a heightened sensitivity to those around her, and was a supportive and sympathetic friend. She loved people for who they truly were, and accepted them completely.

A graveside service will be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024 at 2:30 pm at Hebrew Rest Cemetery No. 3, 2100 Pelopidas St. in New Orleans, with Rabbi Todd Silverman officiating. Following the service, mourners will gather at the home of Guss Ginsburg.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Betsy’s memory may be directed to Streetside Library, which supplements libraries in homeless shelters and schools in need.

https://www.streetsidelibrary.org/services-4

To view and sign the online guest book, please visit www.lakelawnmetairie.com