Elizabeth Jane Leavenworth
Elizabeth Jane Leavenworth died April 29 in Austin. She was 91 and had lived at Longhorn Village, a senior community in Austin, since 2009. She was a longtime resident of Dickinson, Texas.
She was born Elizabeth Jane Hall on August 26, 1927 in West Haven, Connecticut, to Ellis Leroy Hall and Frances Biersmith Hall. She grew up in Hamden, near New Haven, and attended nursing school at Adelphi University on Long Island. During her training at Queens General Hospital, she met and married a physician who was completing his training there, William Miller Leavenworth, M.D. They lived in Washington, D.C., Chattanooga, Tennessee, Dayton, Ohio, and Orlando and Jacksonville, Florida, before moving to Texas in 1958.
Because she eloped before completing her studies, Betty returned to nursing school at age 38, completed her degree, and was licensed as a registered nurse shortly before her 40th birthday. She was active in the Girl Scouts and the Women’s Auxiliary to the Galveston County Medical Society, holding regional and state leadership positions in the affiliated organizations. She also served as volunteer school nurse at True Cross School in Dickinson.
She was gregarious and loved parties, conversation, and the company of her many friends. She was opinionated and outspoken throughout her life, and was quick to offer advice, solicited or otherwise.
Betty was a widow since the death of her husband Bill in 1988. She is survived by her children and their spouses: Christopher Leavenworth of Austin, Geoff and Simone Leavenworth of Austin, Randy and Margaret Condit of Highland Village, Texas, and Mike and Jane Wolff of Huntington Beach, California, as well as seven grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister, Patricia Hall Crone of Memphis, Tennessee and the extended Crone family. Her brother, John Ellis Hall, died in 1979.
The funeral is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Friday, May 3, at Shrine of the True Cross Church in Dickinson. Memorials may be made to the Dickinson Public Library.
I was saddened to learn that Betty had died through research on the internet. I spent several days with her in her Dickinson home in the early 2000’s. I was always fond of Betty having met her in the 1950’s when she and Bill lived on Mercer Circle South in Jacksonville, Fl. I often babysat for Chris, Geoff, and Margaret before Jane came along. Betty gave me my first prom dress while attending Assumption Catholic School in Jacksonville. We often chatted on the phone after my visit to Dickinson and when she moved to the retirement community in Austin. For many reasons, my family was indebted to Betty in the 1950’s.