Elizabeth (Betty) Lathrop Bartlett, 90, passed away January 29, 2021 at Mount Carmel Care Center. Born Elizabeth Anne Lathrop June 19,1930, in Meriden, Connecticut, Betty was the daughter of Stanley Peck Lathrop and Florence “Hazel” Wimpenny Lathrop of Wallingford, Connecticut.
Betty graduated from Lyman Hall High School, Wallingford Connecticut and while in High School, she volunteered as a plane spotter during WWII. She learned airplane silhouettes and spent many hours on the roof of one of the buildings on the campus of Choate Private School. After graduating High School, she began full time work at Wallace International Silversmiths, Meriden, Connecticut as well as attending a Business School for accounting in Springfield, Massachusetts, part time. She later married her high school sweetheart, the late Francis A. Bartlett in 1950 and together they began building the family apple business in Richmond known as Bartlett’s Orchard.
Betty dedicated her life to love of family and support of community. She was a member of the Richmond PTA, a volunteer for the Richmond Community Health Programs, supported/coordinated performances that brought professional musicians to Richmond and was one of the founding organizers of the Anita Chapman Scholarship Fund of Richmond. Betty and her husband were awarded the Charles and Mary Kusik Citizenship Award in 2009.
She loved the apple business and directed unlimited energy and creativity into the family business. She loved nature, especially bird watching and the awe of the night sky. She and her husband loved adventure, which included but not limited to; boating on Long Island Sound, flying lessons at the Great Barrington airport and unplanned trips at a moments notice. She especially loved their retreats to their beloved property in Guilford, Connecticut.
Betty was a communicant of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in West Stockbridge and later St. Marks Catholic Church in Pittsfield.
Betty was predeceased by her husband of 62 years, Francis A. Bartlett, brother Stanley Peck Lathrop Jr. and her very dear older sister Grace Lathrop Willhelm, on whose birthday she was born. She is survived by her oldest sister Florence Lathrop Carmody, her children; Linda, Rick (Joan Chapman) and Ron (Cindy) Bartlett, grandchildren; Cherisse Ponraj (David Ponraj), Grant Dorangrichia, Erick (Alex), Trevor (Julie), Elizabeth, Justin, Micaela Bartlett, as well as great grandchildren Evanya Ponraj and Lincoln Bartlett.
Betty’s family would like to thank the Staff of the Mount Carmel Care Center especially the Saint Louise Unit for their thoughtful, kind, and at times humorous approach to caring for Betty, especially this past year, when long term care was so challenging.
Services held were private. A “Celebration of Life” is planned for Betty on her birthday June 19, 2021 at Bartlett’s Orchards “Pick Your Own” Parking Lot. The public is invited. Follow Bartlett’s Orchard on Facebook for further details closer to the event date.
Betty would be grateful for any donations made in her name, to her favorite charity, The Anita Chapman Scholarship Fund c/o Dery Funeral Home, 54 Bradford Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201