Betty L. Witt

Witt, Betty L. SHREVEPORT, La. Betty L. Witt passed away on Thursday, November 12, 2020, in Shreveport, La. She was born in Neenah, Wis. on October 16, 1929, to William and Mabel Christofferson. After graduating from Neenah High School, she attended Antioch College in Ohio. While working on a school-related job in New York City, she met Leonard Witt, a Brooklyn native and a New York University student. They were married in 1950. After a year in Austin, Texas, at the University of Texas, they moved to Albany where they lived for 57 years and where they raised their two children, Nancy and Stephan. Their marriage endured for 67 years until Len's passing at age 93 in 2016. Betty was preceded in death by her parents as well as her brothers, James, William, Thomas, and Neil Christofferson. She is survived by her daughter, Nancy (husband Ronald Horvath) of Bloomfield, N.Y. and her son, Stephan (wife Jill Parker-Witt) of Shreveport, La.; and her two grandchildren, Alexander and Emily of Shreveport. Also surviving her is her sister-in-law, Sandra Christofferson of Eugene, Ore., as well as several nieces and nephews. Betty, known as Chris to many friends, graduated from SUNYA with three degrees - a B.A. in education, an M.A. in English education and a M.S. in reading. She was a reading specialist in North Colonie Schools, a suburban school district of Albany, for 25 years. In the 1980s she served as president of the ACARC (Albany City Area Reading Council) and as an adjunct professor in continuing education at The College of Saint Rose in Albany. After retiring, she and Len bought a condo in Naples, Fla. where they wintered for 16 years. In 2004 they bought a home in Shreveport, La. to be near their grandchildren, Alexander and Emily, the lights of their lives. After Len died, she sold the Albany home and moved permanently to Shreveport. Betty and Len enjoyed traveling and visited many places including Alaska, Mexico, Hawaii, Canary Islands, Morocco, Cartagena, Columbia, Venezuela and numerous Caribbean islands and national parks. Every year they enjoyed reunions with Len's World War II naval shipmates in numerous American cities. Betty was an avid sports fan; the Yankees, Golden State Warriors, N.Y. Giants, New Orleans Saints and many tennis players were her favorites. When she wasn't watching sports or national political programs, she was quilting or solving N.Y. Times crossword puzzles. She read the N.Y. Times daily and was an avid political junkie! She will be missed by her family and friends, especially Sandy, Donna, Jan, and Lillian (her pen pal in Melbourne, Australia since they met in Hawaii in 1982). A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, November 28, at 11 a.m. in St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church. She will be buried in the V.A. cemetery in Bath, N.Y. next to Len. In her memory send contributions to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, P.O. Box 1000, Dept. 142, Memphis, TN, 38148-0142 or to a charity of your choice.