MARY "Betty" HERBERS

Mary Elizabeth Wood Herbers "Betty" (Age 92)  
Died of pneumonia on February 5, 2017 at a senior living facility in Washington, DC. Born in Memphis, TN on December 6, 1924, Betty attended the University of Tennessee and the University of Mississippi. In 1965, she settled with her husband, John Herbers, a national correspondent for The New York Times, and four daughters, in Bethesda, MD. Her dedication to John's work, politics and social causes was manifested in her daily devotion to reading the Times and the Washington Post. Betty's religious faith was an important part of her life. She organized women's church circles, fed the homeless, worked for the Red Cross as a hospital aide, and attended peace marches and anti-apartheid protests.Betty was preceded in death by her sister, Nancy Pond and brother, Jim Wood. She is survived by her loving husband, John (Washington, DC), with whom she was happily married to for 64 years; four daughters, Claudia Slate, Lakeland, FL, Mary Herbers, Derwood, MD, Anne Farris Rosen, Washington, DC and Jill Herbers (New York, NY); sons-in-law, Risdon Slate and Perry Rosen; six grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews.A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 18 at 1 p.m. at St. Columba's Episcopal Church, 4201 Albemarle St. NW, Washington, DC. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Sunflower County Freedom Project, 120 Delta Ave., Sunflower, MS 38773 (sunflowerfreedom.org) or The Southern Poverty Law Center, 400 Washington Ave., Montgomery, AL 36104 (splcenter.org).