Elizabeth "Betsy" Rogers, age 93, died in her home at Windsor Park on January 16, 2023. She loved her God and her family.

Betsy was born on July 11, 1929, to Richard and Margaret Carlisle. She grew up in Elmsford, NY, and Ogdensburg, NY. She graduated from St. Lawrence University in 1950, where she met her future husband, Russell Rogers. Russ was newly returned to college after serving in The USMC during WWII. Betsy and Russ were married in July 1950, after they both graduated from St. Lawrence.

Russ worked long hours in the insurance industry in the next few years, and the three daughters—Carol, Becky, and Marianne—came along in quick succession.  Living with a battle-hardened ex-Marine who was still silently dealing with the trauma of war was not easy on the young mother or on their family life. Then, in her late twenties, Betsy was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and underwent massive surgery. Much later, she would share, "I prayed for my marriage and God gave me cancer." Indeed, the experience changed her marriage, her faith, and her life. It also gave her a keen sensitivity to those facing similar challenges. Through the years, many people, especially when newly diagnosed with cancer, experienced unusual comfort and strength from her compassion and care.

In 1960, Russ took over the reins of an independent insurance agency in Croton-on-Hudson, NY, and they moved to that small community, where Betsy worked in the office as they scrambled to help ends meet.  They would live in Croton-on-Hudson for 38 years, and always considered Croton "home."  The family was active in community affairs and in every aspect of church life at Asbury United Methodist Church.

An opportunity became available for the girls to take horseback riding lessons, which had been a long-held but unfulfilled desire of Betsy's since her own childhood. When Betsy and the girls convinced Russ that they should get a horse of their own, it was Betsy who drove the girls to the stable each day before school and worked alongside them to feed the horses and muck out the stalls to be able to afford this dream. It was Betsy who trailered the horses to horse shows, which became more all-encompassing for the whole family as the girls got older. Dogs and cats were also treasured members of the family during those years.  Russ and Betsy were especially fond of their purebred samoyeds, with which they participated in dog shows. Betsy arranged for one of the dogs to get modeling jobs, including a large poster that hung in every school advertising JFK's Council on Physical Fitness.

One of Betsy's grandmothers lived in New York City and introduced young Betsy to the opera, the theater, and other aspects of New York culture. Grandma provided for Russ and Betsy to continue that tradition as annual subscribers to the Met for all their New York years. In turn, they were able to share their love of opera and theater with grandchildren and great-grands.

Betsy became a master craftsman in jewelry making in those early days, first by eking out a few dollars for a park district class, later studying extensively and developing  what became a lifelong passion of study, teaching, and creating jewelry. She taught classes in her home studio and in various other studios in the New York area. She created exquisite pieces of silver and gold jewelry through the "lost-wax" process  and other techniques. She also became known far and wide for her creation of bracelets for infants and young girls—often with matching bracelets for the girls' mothers. Many of those little girls are now mothers themselves, and they order bracelets for the next generation of young girls.

Betsy and Russ moved to Hilton Head Island, SC, after Russ retired in 1998. Betsy continued with her jewelry-making and teaching activities, and the two of them played golf together at least weekly. After Russ's death in 2003, Betsy remained in Hilton Head, where she continued to be involved in the arts community. Finally in 2014, she moved to Windsor Park to be near family members in the Wheaton area. She was able to continue her craftsmanship in recent years by converting space at Windsor into a fully equipped and functional workshop. At Windsor, she became known as "the jewelry lady," which suited her just fine.

Time with family was a high priority for Betsy, and she was able to do this on a regular basis. One of her granddaughters made this comment: "Gram was one of my favorite people in the world. The grace with which she lived and with which she treated everyone around her was beautiful and inspiring. She loved so fully and so beautifully, and it was such a gift to have her as a grandmother." She especially enjoyed board games with all ages in her large extended family

Another granddaughter wrote: " When we were g rowing up, Gram and Grandpa always made a point to come to our special events, flying from NY to attend high school musicals, graduations, and recitals. She made it her business to know what was going on in our lives, and she carried that sentiment through to each of her great - grandkids. A lover of music, she always went on and on about how much she loved attending my concerts and cheered for me in my musical career. She taught me how to set a beautiful table and to enjoy china and silver place settings and how to cook a restaurant - quality steak. She loved the beach and loved her independence, even insisting at age 93 on getting down a steep slope to the beach to watch the kids play. She was strong, godly, loving, determined, fiercely loyal to her family, opinionated but gracious, opera - loving, classy, and a beautiful woman . Gram, you led a wonderful life and an example worthy of following. I love you and will sure miss you."

One of Betsy's great- granddaughters wrote, " Thank you Gram for your 93 years that you spent on this earth. You were an amazing great - grandmother and I couldn ' t have asked for anyone better! I ' m so glad that I got to spend time with you just a few weeks ago. You will forever be missed. I love you ."

Betsy was also an avid NBA fan—especially cheering for whichever team was coached by her nephew Rick Carlisle. Recently she was shouting at "her players" on the TV so loudly during a game that the neighbor next door called to see if Betsy was okay.

Betsy was preceded in death by her husband, Russell. She is survived by brothers Richard Carlisle and Preston (Joan) Carlisle; by her daughters Carol (Mark) Taylor, Rebecca (Bill) Evans, and Marianne  (Jeff Costa) Schmidt; by 10 loving grandchildren; and by 27 great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on January 28 at College Church in Wheaton. The service will be livestreamed beginning at 2:00 p.m. CST through this link: Memorial Service for Betsy Rogers .

In Betsy's honor, the family suggests that memorial gifts could be made to one of her favorite charities: