Elizabeth Matheu

FRELINGHUYSEN TWP. -- Elizabeth Matheu, 'Betty,' 99, died on Monday, June 8, 2009, at Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation Center in Andover Township. Born in Newark on Oct. 31, 1909, Betty attended grammar school in Hillside and was a graduate of Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts. She was also a graduate of Grand Central Art School in New York City, where she majored in textile and fashion design. Betty studied portrait painting in New York under Wayman Adams, known as 'The Painter of Presidents.' She worked for many years as a textile designer and designer of gift wrap products. She illustrated several children's books and also taught classes in art and ceramics in Union, Warren and Sussex counties. Betty was currently exhibiting at Elke Richter Gallery in Hamburg, Germany.

A charter member of the Newark Art Club and a charter member of 'Women in the Arts' in Washington, D.C., Betty was member of the New Jersey Center for Visual Arts and a member of the Montclair Art Group. She was the recipient of many awards, including a citation from Governor Kean.

In recent years, Betty spent her time painting scenes along the Paulinskill River, on the banks of which her 1780 farmhouse is located and where she lived for the past 80 years. Betty and her daughter, Sally, were associated in the horse business and raising dairy cows and pigs. However, her flower garden was her real joy.

The daughter of the late John and Sophie Schaan Maffenbeier, Betty was predeceased by her beloved husband, Peter Matheu, in 1985, and her grandson, Joe Hanula III, in 2006. She leaves a loving daughter, Sally Van Hassel, of Frelinghuysen Township.

Services and interment in the family plot in Stillwater will be private. Arrangements are under the direction of the Smith-McCracken Funeral Home, 63 High Street, Newton.