Obituary: Elizabeth “Betsy” Catanzaro, 1947-2024

The
amazing life of Elizabeth “Betsy” Catanzaro came peacefully to an
end while asleep at the University of Vermont Medical Center, with
her husband and her son at her side. A very sad day for all that knew
and were touched by her love and kindness.

Betsy
was born and raised in Lancaster, Pa., the daughter of Florence and
Kenneth Friend. After graduating from McCaskey High School in 1965,
Betsy answered her “calling” and followed in her mother’s
footsteps at Abbington Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in
Abbington, Pa. For more than 45 years, Betsy passionately and
skillfully cared for infants and children, the disabled, and the
elderly in hospitals in Washington, D.C.; Colorado; Vermont; and
Massachusetts, including more than 35 years as a home health and
hospice nurse in Framingham, Mass.

Although
nursing and caring for others was her calling, her family was her
essential life. She balanced career and home life seamlessly. Betsy
grew up in the shadow of her two older brothers and among a literal
throng of aunts, uncles and cousins. Her great happiness was raising
her two children, Peter and Kristin, and sharing that joy with her
parents, siblings, niece, nephews, extended family and close friends.
Summer vacations and family reunions at Lake Wallenpaupack in the
Poconos were a staple. She was a winter-sport enthusiast and joined a
curling team while ski bumming in Aspen, Colo., in the early 1970s.
Betsy loved to travel and journeyed with her family or friends to
countless destinations across the globe, including Japan, Hong Kong,
Hawaii, Alaska, Bermuda, the Caribbean, Italy and Norway. She also
greatly enjoyed getting away with her husband and close friends to
her condo in Bonita Springs, Fla., where walking the beaches and
collecting shells was a passion passed on from her mother. But her
favorite destination was always returning home.

Betsy
retired from nursing in 2013. That year Kristin and her husband,
Christopher, presented her with her first grandchild, Hallie
Elizabeth. Her grandson, Evan Patrick, was born in 2016. They became
the very essence of her being. She was hands-on and quite an amazing
grandma. Hallie and Evan would tell you so.

Betsy
returned to reside in Vermont in 2017, after 40 years at the same
house that she and her husband built in 1977 in Ashland, Mass. Family
and friends were the core of Betsy’s retirement. Frequent trips to
Maine to share and participate in the thrill of the grandchildren
growing up and enjoying family vacations and holidays together,
including Uncle Pete, were her lifeblood. Dinners and libations,
hanging out at Ken’s on Church Street, walks on the bike path, and
chatting sessions with her friends were routine. Sitting in the
living room or on the deck of her townhome on the shore of her
cherished Lake Champlain, enjoying the ever-changing panorama and
sunsets, was her solace. Betsy loved Vermont.

Betsy
always put everyone else first. In every facet of her life, she was
the very definition of selflessness. Betsy’s loss will be felt
deeply. If you wanted a remarkable and caring nurse, mom, grandma,
sister, cousin, aunt or friend, Betsy would be your choice.

Betsy
is survived by her son, Peter Michael Catanzaro, of Marlborough,
Mass.; her daughter, Kristin Marie Meaney, and her husband,
Christopher Meaney, of Falmouth, Maine; her grandchildren, Hallie and
Evan; her brother Joseph Friend and his wife, Carol, of Lancaster,
Pa.; her brother Neal and his wife, Georgine, of Northport, Fla.; her
niece, Shauna Worobey, and her husband, Phillip, of Mansfield, Texas;
her nephew Kenneth Friend and his wife, Kristen, of East Amherst,
N.Y.; her nephew Andrew Friend and his wife, Brittany, of Pasadena,
Md.; and her mother-in-law, Mary Brandt of Ocala, Fla., whom Betsy
held in a special place.

She
is also survived by her husband of 48 years, Angelo, who has had the
ultimate joy and privilege of sharing this world with such an amazing
woman. Somehow, I found the perfect wife and life partner. Thank you,
Betsy. You will be missed.

A
celebration of her life will be held in July in Burlington.

This article appears in The Animal Issue 2024.