Elizabeth Lasswell

LASSWELL, ELIZABETH Betty Lasswell's exciting life ended on May 18, 2006. Born in Trenton, New Jersey August 10, 1916, Elizabeth Louise Lasswell was the eldest daughter of Homer U. and Hattie Pearce. Homer was an engineer working for Thomas A. Edison at the Edison Company of New Jersey. Betty had no idea the excitement facing her when, at the age of 8, her father announced that the parent company of the Edison Company, General Electric had asked her father to take over the office of Tokyo Denki (Electric) in Tokyo Japan and install electricity. Obviously her life changed as they boarded the SS President Lincoln for Japan. While growing up in Omori, Japan, between Tokyo and Yokohama, Betty became an expert tennis player--reaching the #1 Seeded Position in Japan. Educated at the American School in Japan, she later attended and graduated from Stanford University in 1936. When faced with a low-paying job, or returning to Japan, chose to return to Japan. Upon her return, she met her soon to be husband, Captain Alva B. (Red) Lasswell, on assignment to Japan to learn to speak Japanese. While she was engaged to Red, Betty worked for the Japan Advertiser newspaper as the Society columnist. During her tenure there, she was accused by Japanese authorities of being a spy. Apparently, a more senior reporter put a story about Chinese planes flying over Japanese airspace under her byline-- it caused quite a stir. Betty and Red married three times on the same day, June 3rd 1938: in the church, by the Japanese authority and by Ambassador Grew. Their honeymoon took place in Formosa, now Taiwan, during a mission for Red to chart Japanese bases. The mission/ honeymoon almost ended in a crash landing in a rice paddy. Their marriage took them to exciting assignments in Cavite, Philippines and Shanghai, China; where Red served as a codebreaker--using his Japanese language skills. Following a brief assignment, Betty and Red moved to Hawaii, ostensibly for Red to teach Japanese at University of Hawaii--where actually he rejoined Naval Intelligence working for Cdr. Bob Rochefort, in the famous codebreakers. Betty delivered the first of two children James B. in September of 1941, and was evacuated soon after the Dec. 7th attack. Red remained in Hawaii and was the codebreaker who discovered the flight plan of Japanese Admiral Yamamoto and who first identified the operation plan that led to the battle of Midway. After the war, and following a less stressful assignment in the Washington DC area, Betty's second child, John D. Lasswell was born. The family then moved to Yokosuka, Japan. While visiting the old area where Betty lived, they encountered a number of family heirlooms that their Japanese friends had saved for them. Upon returning to the states, Betty became a well known, successful Real Estate agent in the Rancho Santa Fe area. She was a highly competitive golfer at Vista Valley and later at Ocean Hills. She was the only one in a family of four golfers who achieved a "hole in one". Following Red's death in 1988, Betty met and became lifelong partners with Thomas Weekes, also from Ocean Hills. Together they traveled the world: exploring Alaska and the California Desert in their RV, and much of the Pacific by air and sea. Tom and Betty shared a zest for life that was contagious to all who encountered them. Rarely does one get a second chance to share life with another great partner. Survivors include her loving partner-Tom, her younger brother Homer U. (Spud) Pearce of Honolulu, her two sons James B. Lasswell of Del Mar Heights, John D. Lasswell of Fallbrook, three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. No public services are planned. A family memorial will be held. Please sign the guest book at obituaries.uniontrib.com