Elizabeth Ristvedt "Beth" Albright

1951 - 2021

ALBRIGHT, Mrs. Elizabeth "Beth" Ristvedt, of Arlington, Va. and originally of Fargo, N.D., lost her courageous battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) on March 29, 2021. She was surrounded by her loving husband and best friend of over 45 years, George F. Albright Jr., of Arlington, Va. and originally of Richmond, Va.; her children, daughters-in-law and grandchildren in her family's home.

After graduating from Colorado State University, Beth relocated to Washington, D.C. in 1974 to work on Capitol Hill and moved into Thompson-Markward Hall ("The Young Women's Christian Home" or "The Home"). She quickly fell in love with and married a law student (George) who was moonlighting as the all-night switchboard operator living in the Carriage House of The Home, and the rest is history. She later served as a board member and President of The Home.

Beth spent her childhood summers with her family in Detroit Lakes, Minn. on Lake Melissa and was truly a lake girl. She loved sharing her memories, as well as creating new ones with her family.

She dedicated her life to family, friends and her strong Christian faith and was a beloved member of The Falls Church Anglican (TFCA) for over 35 years. Her beautiful smile, warmth, genuine kindness and sense of style lit up every room she entered. She cherished the relationships with her children, their friends and teammates and was the consummate team mom.

She was honored to serve the Falls Church and Arlington communities through her numerous leadership positions, including as President of both The Dominion Guild and The Northern Virginia Alliance League (NVAL). Beth loved connecting old friends, new friends and strangers alike, and valued her friendships with neighbors and fellow members of Washington Golf and Country Club.

When faced with the devastating diagnosis of ALS, Beth attacked the battle head on with her usual grace. Her determination, the unwavering support of family and friends and the tireless care provided by the most loving and patient doctors, nurses and caregivers, allowed Beth to live life to the fullest and get to meet and hold her eighth grandbaby, Maggie. The Albright family will be forever grateful to Dr. Merit Cudkowicz and team at The Sean M. Healey Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mass.; Dr. Fernando Vieira of the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI) in Boston, Mass.; as well as her local team of doctors, Dr. Jim Williams and Dr. Bob Kurtzke; and her amazing in-home nurses, Parish and Georgette, for the personalized, loving care they provided to Beth. We are in awe of the compassion shown to all of us by Beth's medical team.

Above all, she loved being a wife, mom, grandmother and sister of Christ, and she was so proud of her children.

She is survived by her loving and devoted husband George; four children and eight grandchildren: George "Toby" III, his wife, Stephanie and their children, George IV and Ginny, of Arlington, Va.; John, his wife, Sheri and their children, Jack, Stuart and Annie Elizabeth, of Charlotte, N.C.; Will, his wife, Julie and their children, Connor, Caroline Beth and Maggie, of Larchmont, N.Y.; and Abby of Arlington, Va.; her brother, Bill and his wife, Patty, of Sarasota, Fla.; and their children, Michael and Will, of Minneapolis, Minn.; her sister-in-law, Dottie Albright and her husband, James Millikan, of Sarasota, Fla.; sister-in-law, Claudia Wyatt and her children, Whitlow and Sloane, of Atlanta, Ga.; and her beloved Airedale dogs. She was preceded in death by her parents, Gordon and Genevieve Ristvedt, of Fargo, N.D.; and her in-laws, George Sr. and Dorothy Albright, of Richmond, Va.

The family has had a private Christian service and we look forward to a celebration of Beth's life that will be scheduled at a later date when COVID restrictions have been lifted.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Beth's honor are encouraged to be made to The Sean M. Healey Center for ALS at Massachusetts General Hospital, or the ALS TDI both in Boston, Mass. so that Dr. Cudkowicz, Dr. Vieira and their teams can continue to fight for a cure for ALS. Donations can be made directly to The Sean M. Healey Center at Mass General (giving.massgeneral.org/donate/healey-center) or to ALS TDI (als.net/donate).