ELIZABETH HIAM "BETTY" VALENTINE

VALENTINE, Elizabeth Hiam "Betty" Longtime resident of Carlisle, MA, passed away on Monday, December 14 at ninety years of age. Betty was mother of seven, patient wife, grandmother, beloved sister, friend, orphan, pilot, expert bird watcher, world traveler, aspiring artist, tennis player, bridge player, Museum of Fine Arts Docent and Gallery Instructor, Boston Symphony Orchestra lifetime ticket holder, passionate Red Sox and Patriots fan, adequate skier, African Grey Parrot owner, and conservationist. She was born to Colonel Thomas and Frances (Webster) Hiam on November 6, 1930 in Vancouver, Canada. Her father passed away when she was six years old and her mother when she was twelve. She and her four siblings moved across North America to live with their grandparents, Edwin S. (E.S.) and Jane DePeyster Webster, affectionately known as Pa and Tudie, in Chestnut Hill, MA. E.S. Webster was the co-founder of Stone & Webster, the Boston-based electrical engineering and power infrastructure firm. Betty returned to Canada to attend college at McGill University where she met her husband, John Valentine, a veteran of the U.S. Army Air Force and a U.S. champion ski racer who grew up in Chelmsford, MA. They married in 1952. In 1954, they bought Stillmeadow Farm on 100 acres of land at the corner of West and Acton Streets in Carlisle, where they would live for 66 years. Betty was an enthusiastic bird watcher and educator for the Massachusetts Audubon Society and specialized in North Eastern shore birds. She served on the Advisory Council of Mass Audubon for many years. She traveled the world extensively with bird watching enthusiasts, actively seeking to fill out her bird species "Life List." She and her family lived with a succession of African Grey Parrots. Betty joined the Ladies Committee at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and then went on to become a Gallery Instructor. She took great joy in sharing the wonders of the art world with small children. Betty and her late husband Jack were dedicated, lifelong conservationists. They kept Stillmeadow Farm (which grew to 156 acres over the years) in active agricultural use throughout their lives. Betty was instrumental in the multi-year planning efforts with the Carlisle Conservation Foundation that led in 2008 to a permanent Conservation Restriction on the entire property, preserving 129 acres (over 82% of the land) and protecting some of the most iconic rural vistas in Carlisle. Betty had seven children – Ian Valentine of Los Angeles, CA; Lisa Bennett of Holderness, NH; Anne Valentine of Brownsville, VT; Alison Pascarelli of Holderness, NH; Thom Valentine of Phippsburg, ME. She was a mischievous grandmother to eight grandchildren, all of whom were particularly endeared to her as a result. Betty is also survived by her sister Frances Holbrook of Pownal, VT and her brother Peter Hiam of Holderness, NH. She was preceded in death by her husband, Jack, her daughter, Jessica of Carlisle, MA and her son, Peter of Olympia, WA. A Memorial Service will be scheduled in the future. Private Burial will be at Green Cemetery, Carlisle. For her online guestbook, visit www.DeeFuneralHome.com Dee Funeral Home of Concord 978-369-2030 Caring for families since 1868