Elizabeth Carlisle

Betsy Carlisle had that trait my Southern family would call "just good". Meaning, hard to give name to, but self-evident. Betsy was empathetic, positive, interested to hear whatever interested you. Surrounded by the ebullient family she and Elliott created, Betsy waited for other obligations to ebb, then wrote her one book: an orchestration of the self-documentation left by a durable Valley frontiers-woman, matching perfectly subject and writer (more of that empathy!). A beautiful book...

Betsy was one of my favorite teachers and people at ARHS. she was so kind and reassuring to my struggling teenage self. May her memory be a blessing.

Liz and Family I am so sorry to learn of your mom´s passing. What a remarkable women she was and raised an amazing family. Who gave her and your dad grandchildren ! There is nothing like a bond between a mother and her children and I know you all have that, and will continue forever . I always will remember her with a friendly welcome whenever I would see her around town. Sending my love and prayers to you all.

Dear Betsy`s family, This is a shock; of course not a surprise. I am so, so sad, and so so appreciative of all she was, both on her own terms and in my experience of friendship. I felt quite cut off from her when she moved from Amherst, but I know that was inevitable. As these things go, I had just been thinking of writing her very recently. You have all been incredibly attentive as she lived on and on and sometimes wondered why, but there´s nothing about her we weren´t happy for. I plan to...