1942
Bettie
2014
Bettie Dantz Burson
March 6, 1942 — July 10, 2014
Bettie Dantz Burson
(March 6, 1942 - July 10, 2014)
Bettie Dantz Burson was born in Berryville, Virginia on March 6, 1942, the youngest of eight children born to Charles and Ardela Lake. When, as a child, Bettie's mother died, she and her sister Shirley were welcomed and adopted into the family of her cousin, Helen Dantz and her husband, Elwood, in Clarksville, Maryland. There Bettie found a good and loving home that offered her many opportunities to develop and grow. She was raised by the Dantzs, who nurtured her faith in Christ and supplied her with the values and strong traits of character that would mark her life and supply her with a solid foundation on which to build. The service of her adopted father, Elwood, as a lay minister in their church provided Bettie with an outlet for her musical love and abilities as she would play the hymns and songs she came to love on the church's old pump organ.
After graduating from Clarksville High School and attending some college, Bettie went to work as a lab technician for Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. After a brief marriage, Bettie remained single, devoting herself to her family and friends and beginning a long and distinguished career as a legal secretary with several law firms in the Washington D. C. and Baltimore area. Throughout the course of her active life, the lives of countless people were touched and many precious memories made by the warmth of her personality and the sincerity of her love and Christian faith. She loved life and achieved greatness as a dear friend of many, giving freely of her great love and energy to enrich the lives of others. She always kept an important place in her heart for the downtrodden, having faced so many of life's difficulties herself. She especially enjoyed her nieces and nephew providing them with a exceptional role model. They viewed her as a second mother and bore a striking physical resemblance to her. Bettie was always there for her family and friends.
Later in life Bettie was blessed when she found love and a partner for her life in Tom Holder, whom she met in Annapolis in 1995. As their work careers drew to a close they purchased property, constructed and furnished their house and moved to Port Saint Lucie, Florida where they built a life and home together, adding many dear friends to the circle of their lives.
Bettie always allowed her positive attitude and her refusal to be critical of others to define every situation and help her and those around her face and deal effectively with the challenges and difficulties of life. She never spoke a negative word about anyone and chose never to be selfish, always thinking of others first. She greatly valued the people in her life, who were always her selfless priority. As Bettie would face and battle any of the problems or setbacks in life, such as her deteriorating eyesight, you would never hear her complain. Even in the face of the rapid and recurrent series of health problems that filled the final year of her life Bettie chose to encourage and bring laughter to others instead of burdening them with any of her problems or complaints.
The challenges of this past year were many, including breast cancer and a broken hip, which she accepted and dealt with in faith and with the strong will that her God had given her. Friends and family marveled and lives were deeply touched as she would again and again face operations, treatments rehabilitation and complications with a smile, a strong sense of humor and a courageous faith. After one final surgery this past month, persistent infection once again settled in, leading to her death this past Thursday. To the end Bettie "fought the good fight" and having finished her race and kept her faith, Bettie was called to her home in heaven by the Lord who loved her and cared for her through it all. Throughout her life to the very end Bettie was always a fighter, but now her fight is finished and she no longer needs to carry the burdens of life or struggle against its difficulties. She is free to unleash all her energies in enjoying the gifts and glories of eternity with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Bettie is survived by her longtime companion and life partner, Tom Holder, her oldest sister, Velma Brown, her nieces and nephew, Elizabeth Lemaster, Patricia Brunner and Timothy Brunner and many other friends and relatives.
Bettie refreshed the lives of many, bringing joy and offering Christian love to those around her with her outgoing and caring personality and her infectious wit and smile. A loved one and friend, she will be greatly missed, but fondly remembered by all.
"Well done, good and faithful servant!
Come and share your Master's happiness!"
(Matthew 25:21)
(March 6, 1942 - July 10, 2014)
Bettie Dantz Burson was born in Berryville, Virginia on March 6, 1942, the youngest of eight children born to Charles and Ardela Lake. When, as a child, Bettie's mother died, she and her sister Shirley were welcomed and adopted into the family of her cousin, Helen Dantz and her husband, Elwood, in Clarksville, Maryland. There Bettie found a good and loving home that offered her many opportunities to develop and grow. She was raised by the Dantzs, who nurtured her faith in Christ and supplied her with the values and strong traits of character that would mark her life and supply her with a solid foundation on which to build. The service of her adopted father, Elwood, as a lay minister in their church provided Bettie with an outlet for her musical love and abilities as she would play the hymns and songs she came to love on the church's old pump organ.
After graduating from Clarksville High School and attending some college, Bettie went to work as a lab technician for Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. After a brief marriage, Bettie remained single, devoting herself to her family and friends and beginning a long and distinguished career as a legal secretary with several law firms in the Washington D. C. and Baltimore area. Throughout the course of her active life, the lives of countless people were touched and many precious memories made by the warmth of her personality and the sincerity of her love and Christian faith. She loved life and achieved greatness as a dear friend of many, giving freely of her great love and energy to enrich the lives of others. She always kept an important place in her heart for the downtrodden, having faced so many of life's difficulties herself. She especially enjoyed her nieces and nephew providing them with a exceptional role model. They viewed her as a second mother and bore a striking physical resemblance to her. Bettie was always there for her family and friends.
Later in life Bettie was blessed when she found love and a partner for her life in Tom Holder, whom she met in Annapolis in 1995. As their work careers drew to a close they purchased property, constructed and furnished their house and moved to Port Saint Lucie, Florida where they built a life and home together, adding many dear friends to the circle of their lives.
Bettie always allowed her positive attitude and her refusal to be critical of others to define every situation and help her and those around her face and deal effectively with the challenges and difficulties of life. She never spoke a negative word about anyone and chose never to be selfish, always thinking of others first. She greatly valued the people in her life, who were always her selfless priority. As Bettie would face and battle any of the problems or setbacks in life, such as her deteriorating eyesight, you would never hear her complain. Even in the face of the rapid and recurrent series of health problems that filled the final year of her life Bettie chose to encourage and bring laughter to others instead of burdening them with any of her problems or complaints.
The challenges of this past year were many, including breast cancer and a broken hip, which she accepted and dealt with in faith and with the strong will that her God had given her. Friends and family marveled and lives were deeply touched as she would again and again face operations, treatments rehabilitation and complications with a smile, a strong sense of humor and a courageous faith. After one final surgery this past month, persistent infection once again settled in, leading to her death this past Thursday. To the end Bettie "fought the good fight" and having finished her race and kept her faith, Bettie was called to her home in heaven by the Lord who loved her and cared for her through it all. Throughout her life to the very end Bettie was always a fighter, but now her fight is finished and she no longer needs to carry the burdens of life or struggle against its difficulties. She is free to unleash all her energies in enjoying the gifts and glories of eternity with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Bettie is survived by her longtime companion and life partner, Tom Holder, her oldest sister, Velma Brown, her nieces and nephew, Elizabeth Lemaster, Patricia Brunner and Timothy Brunner and many other friends and relatives.
Bettie refreshed the lives of many, bringing joy and offering Christian love to those around her with her outgoing and caring personality and her infectious wit and smile. A loved one and friend, she will be greatly missed, but fondly remembered by all.
"Well done, good and faithful servant!
Come and share your Master's happiness!"
(Matthew 25:21)
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