Elizabeth Whitney Telfer

on September 7, 1917, in Ann Arbor, MI, the only child of Dr. Allen S. and Maybelle (Howe) Whitney. Her

father was the first Dean of the School of Education at the University of Michigan and a vocal early proponent

of teaching as a profession. The family lived two blocks from campus, so she grew up happily in academia and

developed a life-long appetite for the arts, education, books, ideas, and travel. She graduated from Emma

Willard School in Troy, NY. She met Bruce Thomas Telfer at the University of Michigan, from which both

graduated in 1938. Betts was an apprentice teacher at the Shady Hill School in Cambridge MA and then taught

first grade in the Ann Arbor public schools. On June 29, 1940, she married Bruce and they lived in Ann Arbor

while he finished UM Law School. During World War II they moved as Bruce’s training for Navy duty

demanded, and she stayed in Ann Arbor while he served on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. When he was

transferred to Great Lakes Naval Air Station they moved to Libertyville, IL, and then lived in Ann Arbor,

Birmingham MI, Northbrook, IL, and in 1954 settled in Kenilworth, IL, where they raised three daughters who

all became teachers. Bruce died in 1978 and Betts stayed in the Kenilworth house, the center of her family,

until 2009 when she moved to the Presbyterian Home in Evanston.

During her years in Kenilworth Betts was very active in the community, serving for years in several

organizations including the Girl Scouts, the Kenilworth Park Board, the Winnetka Auxiliary of the Children's

Home and Aid Society, and the Kenilworth Council of Garden Clubs. She initiated the drive to build the Village

House for teenagers, which was finished in 1966. She was a member of the Kenilworth Union Church where

she helped compile the Day by Day calendar for many years. She loved attending live music, opera, and theater

and was always reading several books at once. She kept journals all her life. She played the piano by ear and

wrote song lyrics and poems. She loved to garden and to play occasional golf and enjoyed the company of

many, many dogs and two cats over the years. She traveled extensively to many regions the world, writing

about, photographing and painting several places she visited. She was loyal UM supporter and an avid Michigan

football fan. She had a multitude of friends of all ages and especially enjoyed a good party and a lively

political discussion.

The two biggest passions in her life were her family and her oil painting. Because she grew up an only child,

she especially cherished her daughters and their families including her seven grandchildren and gathered them

around her as often as she could. They kept her young and gave her energy. She pursued painting in oils for

over 60 years, inspired by the colors around her. Although she was largely self-taught, her paintings were

admired by many and are treasured by all who own them. From 1968 until 2006 she spent the winter months in

the family's beach house on untamed Manasota Key in Englewood, FL, on the Gulf of Mexico where she

walked the beach, painted the sealife and seascapes, taught her grandchildren to fish and enjoy nature, and

entertained her wide circle of friends.

Her daughter Shelley Burger died in 2001 and her daughter Marilee Luttig died in 2007. She is survived by her

daughter Bari Riedel (John) of Ann Arbor, MI; son-in-law Bob Burger (Laura Rodriguez) of Wilmette, IL; sonin-

law Craig Luttig of Boise, ID; and grandchildren Stacey (Mitch) Berenson of South Elgin; Joshua Luttig

(Jennifer Luttig-Komrosky) of Chicago; Matthew Luttig of Chicago; Christopher Luttig of Richmond, VA;

Jeffrey Riedel of Philadelphia; Lisa Riedel (Mike Gorski) of Dexter, MI; and Kate Riedel of Ann Arbor, MI;

and one great-grandchild, Madeline Berenson.

A memorial service will be held at Kenilworth Union Church on Thursday, December 29, at 3 pm. Private

interment will be in the Bowen Memorial Garden in Kenilworth. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests

donations payable to The University of Michigan, for “Whitney Memorial Fund,” may be mailed to: School of

Education, att. Danielle Dimcheff, 610 E. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Betts established the Allen

S. Whitney Award, given to UM teachers in training, years ago in memory of her father.