LOS ALTOS, Calif. – Dr. Elizabeth E. “Betty” Williamson, 84, a resident of Los Altos, Calif., since 2001, passed away Friday morning, May 8, 2009, at Copper Ridge facility, Sykesville, Md. Elizabeth was the wife the late Dr. Russell G. Williamson. She is survived by her sister, Margaret E. Richardson; brother, Frederic Eustis; sons, Augustus E. “Gus” Williamson of Baltimore and Peter G. Williamson of Truckee, Calif.; grandchildren, Ryan Travis Williamson, Gaelen Ellery Williamson, Logan Bowditch Williamson and Carly Elizabeth Williamson; many beloved nieces and nephews. Elizabeth was born in Boston and raised in Milton, Mass. She attended Beaver Country Day School, Vassar College and Johns Hopkins University Medical School. After internships and residency at Maine General Hospital, Portland, she practiced anesthesia in Blue Hill from 1958 until 1980. Betty led a full and active life. She and Russell were avid sailors who owned a series of seven different sailboats and who cruised extensively with her family from Labrador to the Caribbean and the South Pacific. Two cruises were particularly noteworthy: one beginning in the fall of 1968 and ending in the summer of 1970 to the Caribbean and back, of about 10,000 miles; and a second beginning in June 1971 and ending July 1974 to the South Pacific and back, of 26,000 nautical miles. These cruises were on sailboats of 39 and 42 feet in length with the whole family of four as crew. She and Russell taught Gus and Peter third through eighth grades via Calvert School of Baltimore correspondence program. The voyages were extraordinary life experiences, which gave the boys a more international perspective, unusual skills in fishing, sailing and navigating, and exposure to countries, languages and cultures before age 18. Betty was a strong, independent person, a dedicated physician and an enthusiastic traveler. She was a devoted wife, caring mother and mother-in-law, and proud grandmother. She will be lovingly remembered by all her family and friends. Memorial services in Maine will be held 5 p.m. July 1 at Kellogwidgwok Yacht Club. Memorial donations in Betty’s name may be made to Blue Hill Memorial Hospital, 57 Water St., Blue Hill, ME 04614 or Fund for Johns Hopkins Medicine, 100 North Charles St., Suite 213, Baltimore, MD 21201-3805. Online condolences may be sent to the family via the obituaries section of the funeral home, then the sign registry book option at www.haightfuneralhome.com.
DR. ELIZABETH E. ‘BETTY’ WILLIAMSON
