Elizabeth Traynor

Elizabeth R. “Betty” Traynor, of Swansea, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully on June 4, 2026, at Clifton Healthcare Campus in Somerset. She was 98 years old. Born Elizabeth Rounseville on February 16, 1928, in Fall River, Massachusetts, she was the daughter of the late Mr. Cyrus C. Rounseville, a Fall River native and former president of Union Savings Bank and later Citizens Union Bank, and the late Mrs. Geraldine Ward Rounseville. Betty’s two sisters were Marion R. Norman of Somerset and Barbara R. Leech of Little Compton, R.I.;

Betty devoted 41 years of her life to teaching and serving as the Director of the Christ Church Day School, from 1956 until her retirement in 1997. She was instrumental in shaping the early education of more than 900 children across four decades.

A lifelong Episcopalian, Betty was an active member of Christ Church in Swansea for 71 years, serving on its Vestry, Cemetery, Annual Harvest Festival, and Outreach Committees.

Betty directed her energy and passion in helping others at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, where she served for thirty-five years as an Auxiliary Member and volunteer in both the Surgery Center and the Oncology Center. She was also a Trustee and Advisory Board Member of BayCoast Bank, a Board Member of Adams House — Fall River’s historic nonprofit senior care community, a member of the Women’s Union Club of Fall River, the Fortnightly Club, the Woman’s Club of Fall River, the Junior League of Fall River and the Maritime Museum at Battleship Cove member.

Betty’s civic and social memberships include the Eureka Bowling League, the Touisset Country Club, the Cedar Cove Club, and the former Country Garden Club of Swansea.

Betty is survived by her two children, Lawrence Eugene Traynor, Jr. (known as Laurie); and daughter, Robin Rounseville Dewey (husband, Davis A. Dewey); she was Goggie to her four grandchildren, Zackary L. Traynor, Davis A. Dewey, Jr., Elizabeth R. O’Rourke, and Jennifer B. Traynor; her three great-grandchildren, Addison R. O’Rourke, Evelynn C. O’Rourke, and Davis Adams Dewey III; her six nephews, C. Allan Norman, Bruce C. Norman, Cliffton B. Leech, Cyrus R. Leech, Jay Leech, and Jeffrey Leech; and her niece, Barbara McLeod.

A celebration of Betty’s life will be held Friday, August 21, 2026, at 11:00 AM at Christ Church, 57 Main Street, Swansea. Relatives and friends are invited. Burial will be private. Funeral arrangements are in the care of the Waring-Sullivan Home at Birchcrest, 189 Gardners Neck Road, Swansea.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations to the Friends of the Swansea Public Library, 69 Main Street, Swansea, MA 02777.

“It’s my wish that my final goodbye is a reflection of all I have been and loved.”