Betty I. Beiser, 101, passed away peacefully, surrounded by loving family on August 11, 2019 at Sun City Center Hospice House. Betty was born on September 26, 1917, in Martinsville, IL to Samuel and Sarah Lane. She graduated from Shurtliff College with a BA in Education soon followed by an MA in Exceptional Student Education (ESE) from the University of Illinois. Betty started her lifelong career as an educator in 1937 in the town of Grafton, IL. She gradually moved from the regular classroom and into the field of Hospital/Homebound students, where she first began teaching children with physical disabilities. The superintendent in Alton, IL, got wind of her and created a special position for her at the Boul’s Building where her exceptional students had their own classroom! In the meantime she met the love of her life, Dr. J. Ryan Beiser. They were married on August 10, 1950 in Clay County, Arkansas. Not long after, they vacationed in Florida and decided to stay, asking their friends and family to pack up and ship all of their things! Betty quickly secured a job because she was qualified and prepared to teach exceptionalities that no one else could. When 1957 rolled around, Betty became both the principal of Bayside School and a mother! She was never an assistant principal, moving directly from the classroom into administration. Bayside was a school for exceptional students of all kinds and levels of challenges. Under her administration, Bayside School also become the first integrated school in Hillsborough County. By the early 60’s mainstreaming of exceptional students had become a priority and Betty became the principal of Stephan Foster EL and its state of the art exceptional student wing. She was not to remain there forever, moving on to Temple Terrace EL and away from ESE in the early 70’s, where she remained until her retirement in 1984. Always the educator, she then spent ten years supervising interns for both USF and NOVA, as well as helping her daughter and son-in-law every single day with her grandchildren. . Betty was an accomplished seamstress and could whip up a creation in nothing flat. She even reupholstered the family furniture numerous time. Never one to sit still, Betty painted the family home inside and out on a rotating schedule. Betty had an exciting, rich, and impactful life. She traveled by train all the way from Alton to Los Angeles during WWII to build bombs for Lockheed. She put herself through college during the Depression and landed a good job in 1937! She loved to read and planned fantastic road trips for her family every summer. She courageously moved all the way to Florida with Ryan to forge a new life… and what a life! She fulfilled her own mother’s dying wish to, “Take care of the children, Betty,” millions of times over.
Betty is survived by daughter Theresa Miller and son-in-law Bruce, as well as granddaughters Katherine Ilene and Allison Ryan. Joining us in our grief is the family of beloved friend, Ella Mae Watson and dear friend, Kitty Cairo. Also surviving are her sister Mary, her brother Sam, and dozens of nieces and nephews. Betty is predeceased by her loving husband, Dr. J. Ryan Beiser, as well as her brothers; Ted, Gene, and Fred, and her sisters; Billie, Francie, Bev, and Pat. The family would like to thank Janice Thornton for her service as a loving companion for Betty, the staff of 3A at Brandon Regional Hospital, and most especially, Kim and Nikki, of the Cranberry Team at Sun City Center Hospice House.
A visitation will be held at the Mcloughlin Center behind Christ the King Catholic Church, 821 S Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL 33609 on Friday, August 16 from 6:00 – 8:00 PM. There will be a graveside service for family on Saturday. The family will be having a Celebration of Life for Betty in the future. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to LifePath Hospice in Betty’s name.
