Elizabeth Thompson

Elizabeth (Betty) ThompsonOn January 25th 2023 our "Queen Elizabeth" died peacefully surrounded by her family. Elizabeth was born in Worchester, MA on April 25th, 1928 to Kathryn Williams and Robert Shatos. After graduating with a degree in history from Regis College, Elizabeth set sail for Paris to complete a graduate degree in International Law at the University of Paris in 1951. It was in Paris that Betty met and fell in love with a handsome American attorney from San Francisco, John W. Thompson. She and John had a 65-year love affair with Paris and with each other. In 1952 there were few professional jobs open to women, so Betty threw herself into community and church service. She was the president of both the Children's Home Society chapter and the Women's Relief Society, and an officer of the Santa Clara County Democratic Club, Betty was an accomplished pianist and organist, was an officer of the Sunnyvale Council for the Arts and strongly supported the arts throughout her life. Betty and John moved to Spokane, WA in 2002 to be close to their daughter and grandchildren. She was indomitable and continued to independently manage her numerous real estate investments until her death. Betty is survived by her daughter Michele Thompson-Holbrook and son-in-law Ryan F. Holbrook, MD and her grandchildren John Holbrook, MD (Rachel), Justin Holbrook (Ji-Hye), Colin Holbrook, Kathryn Holbrook, Daniel DeCastro (Masina) and eight great-grandchildren. She will be interred April 25th at 10 AM at Alta Mesa Memorial Park in Palo Alto, CA.