- Date Of Birth: December 9, 1946
- Date Of Death: September 28, 2017
- State: Colorado
Elizabeth “Betsy” Stettner
Elizabeth “Betsy” Shantz Stettner died peacefully on September 28, 2017 at home with loved ones, two-and-a-half years after being diagnosed with ALS. She died from complications of the devastating disease and was 70 years old.
Betsy was born on December 9, 1946 in Springfield, MA to parents Elizabeth (Rogers) and Henry Bowman Sabin. She was close to her three brothers, Jack, Bo, and Tommy, as well as cousins Petey and Chip, who grew up close by. Betsy attended Dana Hall School in Wellesley, MA from 1962 to 1965 and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in 1969 from the University of Denver, where she majored in American History, minored in Political Science, and met her husband, Kenneth “Ken” Stettner, who was in law school at the time. They married in the summer of 1969. Betsy had a strong business sense and paid great attention to detail; she worked at a brokerage firm directly after graduation, was St. Anne’s Episcopal School’s Business Manager, and before her retirement, she was the Bookkeeper for American Arbor Care for 15 years. For many years, Betsy was a devoted member of the Junior League of Denver serving dutifully as Treasurer and in other roles.
Betsy’s greatest joy was being surrounded by her family. Sons Richard, Robert, and Andrew gave her eight spirited grandchildren, with two more arriving in 2018 (the third set of twins among Betsy’s descendants).
Betsy loved road trips, genealogy, the outdoors, her dogs, and meticulous crafts like caning wicker furniture. She was meticulous also in the way she organized her home and affairs, keeping and filing every receipt and invoice and maintaining records for nearly everything. Her memory was impeccable and she often regaled those around her with vibrant stories from her youth. A piece of her heart was always in New Hampshire on Lake Winnipesaukee where her family acquired a lake home in 1953, accessible only by boat, and where she and her brothers, then children, nieces and nephews, spent many a summer. After moving to Colorado, Betsy would drive her family cross-country to get to the cabin and her favorite vacations were spent lakeside.
As ALS took hold of Betsy’s body, she missed most the ability to take care of herself, for she was stubbornly independent. Betsy’s famously said, “you get what you get, and you don’t throw a fit,” and she lived true to those words in her humble acceptance of the disease she “got.” She analogized her disease to the woodwork craft of whittling, saying that she felt as though she had been whittled to her core, her independence laying as sawdust and woodchips at her feet. But, she felt stronger because her core reflected all of her true values: honesty, love, kindness, humor, and respect – things ALS could not take from her. Her smile and wit will be missed by all who knew her.
Betsy is preceded in death by her parents, and a brother, William Bowman Sabin. She is survived by her husband, Ken; sons, Richard and Jill Stettner, Robert and Amy Stettner, and Andrew and Sarah Stettner; brothers, Jack and Birgit Sabin of Gainesville, FL, Allen “Bo” Sabin and Tom Ericson of Wilmington, NC, and Tommy and Maria Sabin of Barcelona, Spain; cousin and dear friend, Petey Webster and Jetta Baker, and other cousins; as well as her eight grandchildren, Jack, Chloe, Willy, Henry, Owen, Tula, Cooper, and Riley; and many nieces and nephews.
Family and friends are encouraged to sign Betsy’s online guest book and share memories and/or photos.
