Beatrice Bodin "Betsy" Fetherston-Lallo

Beatrice Bodin Fetherston was born 9 March 1940 in Watchung, New Jersey; the only child of Beatrice Elizabeth Bodin and Franklin Richard Fetherston. She quietly passed away on Sunday, November 16, 2025 in San Jose, California.

Betsy graduated from North Plainfield High School and Vassar College with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors. She continued with graduate work in Speech and Drama at Catholic University in Washington D. C. She was fluent in French.

Betsy performed in theater productions beginning in High School and later in college at Vassar. She studied with the Phillip Smith Studio in New York and with the Chevy Chase Players, Mt. Vernon Players, and at Catholic University productions. She was a member of the Vermont's Dorset Playhouse for it's 18th Season in the summer of 1966.

After graduating in 1962 she married Robert Wells, a Yale graduate and later an executive for Pan Am World Airlines. She had many fond memories of traveling the world with Bob in first class. Besides performing in theater productions, she also worked as a freelance editor and writer. In 1968 they formed Auto Adventures and spent a year putting together a cassette travel guide for San Francisco. It was narrated by actor Dick Van Dyke who was a partner in their venture. They moved to the West Coast to Marin County and had an office in San Francisco. In the early 1970's Betsy began a career in Public Relations, working for National BankAmericard, Inc and Dudley-Anderson-Yutzy Public Relations in San Francisco.

After her divorce from Robert in 1974, she worked for Philadelphia PR firm Lewis & Gilman, where she handled the accounts for Campbell Soup, American Can and Domino Sugar. In 1978 she joined the California Table Grape Commission where she became the Vice President of Consumer Services in 1981.

In 1979 she married attorney Ted Slinkard and they made their home in Fresno, California. He was a pilot and owned a small plane, which they used to fly to many of her consulting meetings. She established her own marketing firm – Slinkard & Associates, in 1983, and was a pioneer in the marketing and promotion of food products. She represented California summer fruits, lettuce, avocados, olives, Washington apples, Napa wines, and the Colorado Potato Commission.

Betsy was a member of the International Foodservice Editorial Council, Home Economists in Business, Public Relations Society of American, The Society for Foodservice Management, Produce Marketing Association.

After her husband Ted passed in 2002, she became active in several Monterey County groups including the American Institute of Wine & Food. She met widower Arthur Alexander and they married in 2004 and enjoyed traveling the world until his sudden death in 2011. In 2013 she married widower John Lallo and they settled in Carmel until they moved to Saratoga in 2023.

She was proud of her British heritage and saw Prince Charles when he was newly married to Camilla in Scotland. She also met the Irish Prime Minister on a trip to Belfast.

Her ashes will be interred in Sanger Cemetery with her parents in Sanger, California. In lieu of flowers, the family requests you share memories or photos on the Legacy.com tribute page.

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