Elizabeth Royal Burch

Elizabeth “Betsy” Burch Bender, 97, a longtime resident of Annapolis, died on October 3, 2021. She was born in Newport, Rhode Island on January 31, 1924, to Katherine Knight and Rear Admiral Forrest B. Royal, USN. She graduated from The Hartridge School in Plainfield, New Jersey. She also attended George Washington University and the Nursery Training School of Boston.

Betsy was from a prominent Navy family. Her father served as Secretary of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during World War II and later as Commander of Amphibious Group 6 in the Philippines Campaign in 1944 and 1945. As a Navy daughter, among her favorite memories were the three years she and her family lived in Rio de Janeiro while her father served in the U.S. Naval Mission to Brazil. At the outset of World War II, she christened a destroyer, the USS Knight, named after her grandfather, Rear Admiral Austin M. Knight.

After the war, Betsy worked for the Pan America Sanitary Bureau in Washington D.C. as the secretary to Dr. Fred Soper, internationally recognized for his work in eradicating Yellow Fever and Malaria. In the 1950s, she moved to Annapolis with her husband architect James Wood Burch, who with Saint Claire Wright, became a major influence in the movement to preserve the city’s historic buildings. As his secretary, Betsy supported her husband’s work as lead architect in the preservation of the Paca House, the Market House, and other prominent historic buildings in Annapolis. Betsy was also active locally in the Junior League of Annapolis, the Children’s Theater, The Colonial Nursery School and Port of Annapolis, Inc.

She was most proud of her work for fifteen years as Administrative Officer for the Division of Mental Health at the Anne Arundel County Health Department. After her retirement, Betsy served for many years as a patient-care volunteer for Hospice of the Chesapeake. She was an avid reader and especially enjoyed foreign films, classic jazz, and bossa nova. She was a beautiful person, gracious and kind. When you spoke with her you had her whole attention. She mourned with those who mourned, rejoiced with those who rejoiced, and was genuinely happy for the successes of others. She died peacefully with her favorite music, Billie Holiday and Lionel Hampton, playing in the background.

She was preceded in death by her first husband James Burch, who died in 1984, her second husband Robert A. Bender, a professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, who died in 2009, and her sister Katherine Royal Cate. She is survived by her son Benjamin Burch of Stewartstown, PA, and her daughter Juliet Burch and son-in-law David Vermette of Annapolis.

Interment will be private. A Memorial Service will be held on Sunday, November 14, 2021 2:00 p.m. at The Blue Heron Center at Quiet Waters Park 600 Quiet Waters Park Road Annapolis, Maryland 21403. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of the Chesapeake and Heartlands Hospice.