Eleanor Betty Blaisdell Berry

Berry , Eleanor Betty Blaisdell, an active participant in the feminist movement in America and in historic preservation, died in Pompano Beach, FL, on February 8, 2007. She was 84 years of age. Known to her many friends and colleagues as Betty, she was born in Providence, RI on October 6, 1922, the daughter of the late Sidney Briggs Blaisdell and Eleanor M. Platt Blaisdell. She was formerly married to Robert G. Berry of New York, and was the beloved companion of the late Adm. Edwin Dexter, USN. After graduating from Smith College with a degree in Economics in 1944, Betty embarked on three eventful and productive careers. As an economist for the Rockefeller family projects, Betty completed research assignments in the Middle East and North Africa. She later served as executive director of the Industrial Designers Society of America, and retired as director of public relations for the American Arbitration Association in 1987. In 1968, Betty earned a Master's Degree in Art Education from New York University; in conjunction with that degree, she worked as the print curator at the Grey Art Gallery at NYU. While at NYU, Betty wrote a research paper on divorce and its economic impact on the dependent spouse. This paper led to Betty's second career as a champion of women's rights. A charter member of the New York chapter of the National Organization of Women in 1967, Betty served as national coordinator of the NOW marriage and family relations task force from 1968 - 1973. In 1974, recognizing the need to provide information about divorce and its consequences, she founded the Marriage and Divorce Press, which published newsletters for laypeople on the subject of divorce. As well as writing and editing, Betty worked for laws concerning marriage, tax deductions for childcare expenses, compulsory financial disclosure and equitable division of property in divorce, individual Social Security benefits for homemakers, continued health insurance and Social Security benefits for divorced persons, equal division of property, and compulsory payroll deductions for child support. She also served as a consultant on marriage and divorce education for the United Presbyterian Church, and as a member of the Homemaker Committee of the National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year of the U.S. State Department (1975-1976). She became a member of the steering committee of the Divorce Task Force of the National Council of Family Relations in 1974 and a member of the Task Force on Economic Power for the Women's Action Alliance in 1976. Betty was a founding member of the Veteran Feminists of America (VFA). Betty's third career in historic preservation combined her interests in art and social change. After her retirement, Betty spent her winters in Fort Lauderdale, where she was an active member of the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society and a key driver in the restoration of the House of Refuge life-saving station at Stuart, which was constructed in 1876. She also supported marine archaeological projects to map and save south Florida's coral reefs and shipwrecks, and volunteered as the assistant to Peter Throckmorton, generally recognized as the founder of the discipline of marine archaeology. She was a member of the Marine Archaeological Council and was involved with the proposed Maritime Museum in Fort Lauderdale. Away from the shore, Betty devoted many years to the establishment of a US Naval Air Station Museum in Fort Lauderdale. Spending her summers at Pemaquid Point in Maine, Betty was a co-founder of the Friends of Colonial Pemaquid, spearheading the efforts to restore Fort William Henry and the Fort House. This work resulted in Colonial Pemaquid being designated a National Historic Landmark in 1993. While at Pemaquid, Betty became interested in marine archaeology and was a Director of the Maritime Archaeological & Historical Research Institute. She was a dedicated sponsor of the work to locate the remains of the English galleon Angel Gabriel. A long-time friend of the late Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine, in 1982 Betty helped found the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan, Maine and was active on its Advisory Board. Betty Berry is survived by countless friends and by her sister, Ruth Blaisdell Simmons, and by her nieces, Ellen Simmons and Marcia S. Brown. A service to celebrate the many facets and joys of Betty's life will be held on Friday, February 16 at 3:00 at the New River Inn at Old Fort Lauderdale Village in Fort Lauderdale. Donations in Betty's memory can be made to: The Grey Art Gallery of New York University, c/o Alan Shapiro, NYU, 25 West 4th Street, 4th floor, New York, NY, 10012; or the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society, 219 SW Second Ave., Fort Lauderdale, FL, 33301.
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