Elizabeth C. Derr

Elizabeth C. “Betty”

Elizabeth “Betty” C. Derr died on November 15, 2013, at the age of 92 in St. Clair Hospital.

Elizabeth was born June 2, 1921 in Brooklyn, New York to Frank S. Disbrow and May Lomax. She

grew up in Rockville Center, NY on Long Island and graduated from South Side High School. She attended Hofstra College for one year and then left college to work during WWII.

In 1942 Betty married Robert H. Derr and they were married for 57 years until his death in 1999. After the War they lived briefly in Chicago, and then in the North Hills of Pittsburgh for more than 50 years.

Once their sons Chris and Rick were born, she was a house wife and mother. At the age of 61 she returned to college part-time at North Hills Community College, continued on to graduate with a B.A. from La Roche College in 1985 and then an M.A. in Psychology from Slippery Rock University in 1990 at the age of 69. After getting her M.A. she worked as a counselor to patients with substance abuse challenges at Mercy Health on the North Side for several years. Elizabeth was an active and long time member of the North Hills Community Baptist Church. Elizabeth moved to the Baptist Homes in Castle Shannon in 2006 and spent the last years of her life as an active participant in that caring community.

She is survived by her two sons, Robert “Chris” Derr of Youngsville, PA and Richard Derr of Old Greenwich, CT, 6 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held in the chapel at the Baptist Home on November 23, 2013 at 2:00pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Baptist Homes Society, Pittsburgh, PA.

Arrangements by H.P. Brandt Funeral Home, Inc., 412-364-4444. www.brandtfuneralhome.com