BETTE HENRITZE Obituary

HENRITZE--Bette Joan.

Actress Bette Joan Henritze passed away on Thursday, February 22nd in Lynbrook, New York. She was 93 years old. Born in 1924 in Kentucky, she grew up in rural Virginia, and moved to New York to study acting. In 1948, Bette made her Broadway debut in "Jenny Kissed Me," as Bette Howe, and was a familiar face on the Broadway stage for the next fifty years. A well-respected character actress, she was known for her work in plays like "Lettuce and Lovage" with Maggie Smith, "Present Laughter" with George C. Scott, and "The Ballad of a Sad Cafe" with Colleen Dewhurst. Also, making her mark Off-Broadway, she won an Obie award in 1967. She made her final Broadway appearance in 2000 with Lauren Bacall in "Waiting in the Wings." Bette also worked extensively in television and film, making her film debut in 1982's "The World According to Garp." She continued acting in movies, including "Brighton Beach Memoirs," "Other People's Money," "Judy Berlin" and "Far From Heaven," and in 2009, at the age of 85, she made her final film appearance in Ang Lee's "Taking Woodstock." Bette was a very private person, whose generous spirit was often hidden beneath her dry sense of humor. Like many theater people, her work was her life and her beloved friends were her family. A celebration in her honor will be held later in the year.

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Published by New York Times on Mar. 4, 2018.

Memories and Condolences
for BETTE HENRITZE

9 Entries

David Rothauser

February 26, 2022

This month we lost our beloved cat Sensei. She was with us for 18 years. I will forever cherish her, just as I cherish my loving memories of Dear Bette. She taught me so much in the many years of our friendship.

David

March 2, 2021

Last year i wrote a memory of Betty that she told me a few years before she passed away about her work on the Manhattan project. Now when I think of Betty a profound sadness comes over me. Maybe it's because I'm older now and feel the loss of loved ones more deeply. Many years before my last story Betty and I accompanied the ashes of a mutual friend to his favorite boy scout camping sight in Pennsylvania. It was raining hard and it took us hours to locate the site. It was located on a mist covered river in the Pennsylvania hills. First we planted a tree in our friend's memory. His name was Dick Wilder and we loved him dearly. Then we took his ashes. Betty threw some around the new tree. I took the remaining ashes to the river and broke down. Betty yelled at me, "Cry, David, Cry! Throw those ashes, David, throw, throw them!!" Thank you, dear Betty.

David Rothauser

February 27, 2020

A few years before Betty passed on she told me a fascinating story and gave me permission to share it publicly. At the time I was doing research about the Manhattan project. Betty's story was as follows. "I came to New York in the early 1940's to study acting. After a couple of years I ran out of money. My father suggested I return home to earn enough money to enable me to continue my theatre studies. He was employed by the U.S. Government and was able to procure a job for me as a typist. After a few days my supervisor told me to destroy all carbon copies of everything I had been typing. He gave no explanation. I felt very uneasy about the situation and quit the job. The FBI tracked me, my family and friends for the next year and a half. Unbeknownst to me and my father we were employed on the Manhattan Project - the secret study to develop the atomic bomb." Text is paraphrased by myself. Your work and memories of you are my inspiration Dear Betty

Albert Depas

February 26, 2019

Dearest Bette, you will always be in my heart. Peace, love and blessings.

Peggy McKinnie Weacer

March 28, 2018

Bette, dear - since our American Academy days I have admired your intgrity, intelligence and devotion to the people and profession you loved. For seventy years I've seen you face life and acting with honesty, humor and courage. You fought the good fight.....and won. Peggy McKinnie Weaver, Hickory Valley, TN

Patricia Henritze

March 8, 2018

I love you Bette! You were one off the most loving, generous people I have ever known and I will miss your sharp humor and big heart. Thank you for your unending kindness to me. Your love and support made a difference in my life.

David Rothauser

March 5, 2018

I learned too late, Dear Betty, your passing. But then passing is only passing. You are with me in my heart, my soul, my passion. Love, David

Joan Leyden

March 4, 2018

A beautiful, passionate human being, rich in talent, insight and compassion. I will treasure my memories of her as family and will keenly miss the special joys of our fifty-one years of friendship, We all loved her!

Albert Dépas

March 4, 2018

Peace Love and Blessings to you Sweet Loving Bette - It was a blessing for me to have had the opportunity to share the last few years of your life with you. In your silent gestures, I have learned a lot. Most of all, that the conscious life is worth living, through the soul energy. I know you are in peace within The Devine.

Love and Blessings.

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