(Sept. 21, 1923 – January 27, 2022)
Elizabeth (Betty, Betts) Bliss Divine was born on September 21, 1923 in Washington, D.C., to Colonel Edward Goring Bliss and Minnie Saxton Bliss. She enjoyed a metropolitan childhood with many relatives in the vicinity. The family lived in homes on Kalorama Road, Q Street, and Reno Road.
Betts attended The Potomac School, where she developed her intellectual curiosity, facility with languages, lifelong artistic talent and accomplished equestrian skills. She continued her education graduating from Mount Vernon Seminary. Her upbringing reflected a childhood of a graceful bygone era. Among her childhood friends was the actress Dina Merrill. She fondly recalled play dates at Hillwood, Ms. Merrill’s mother’s Washington, DC landmark home. Betty was a Cherry Blossom Princess in the annual celebration of Japan’s horticultural gift and was featured in the “Style” section of the Washington Post wearing the latest fashions for Garfinckel’s and other upscale District stores of yesteryear.
The former Betty Bliss was born into a family steeped in service to country. Her grandfather, General Tasker Howard Bliss, achieved the rank of four-star general in the U.S. Army. He served as President Woodrow Wilson’s Chief of Staff of the Army and was a representative to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 to assist in the resolution of WWI. The Bliss Medal continues to be awarded at West Point annually. Mrs. Divine’s father, Colonel Edward (Brig) Goring Bliss, followed in his father’s footsteps as a West Point graduate, Class of 1916. Col. Bliss campaigned with Hollywood royalty Jean Harlow, Ginger Rogers and Robert Taylor to encourage the public to invest in war bonds during WWII. Both her grandfather and father are interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
Betts lost her own mother in her early twenties. As was the custom of the day she assisted her father, assuming the role of hostess at the Reno Road home, until he married Savilla Gamble Bliss. As a member of the Greatest Generation, Betts used her artistic skills in service to her country, working as a cartographer for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), to draw maps freehand to assist in military operations. She became acquainted with the Chef Julia Child and her husband, who also assisted the OSS in another capacity during the conflict.
In April of 1945, she married William (Bill) Henry Divine, of Erie, PA, a United States Naval Academy (USNA 1942) graduate. Theirs was a true Army – Navy romance, with family graces at table concluding with either a “Beat Army” followed by a “Beat Navy” or vice versa, following the final “Amen”. As was typical during the war, the earliest years of their marriage were interrupted by Bill’s deployments at sea in the Pacific. They were apart for much of that time with only lengthy, handwritten letters to sustain them.
After the war, Bill’s corporate career took them around the mid-Atlantic, with stints in New Jersey, York and Philadelphia, PA, and Washington, DC. Betts created a welcoming home for Bill and their growing family wherever they moved. In 1963 they settled in Annapolis as many USNA grads do, and they founded Chesapeake Refrigeration Company. Following its sale, Bill began Universal Associates, a consulting engineering firm. Betts served as CFO for both firms and assisted in other roles as needed. They kept in touch with friends and colleagues around the country. For example they sent an annual holiday missive that featured an original silkscreen card designed by Betts and printed by the entire family. They began annual fall and spring sojourns in Hilton Head, SC and winter sojourns to Florida.
Mrs. Divine was an active community volunteer. She was a Girl Scout leader and an active member of the Wardour Garden Club and the Anne Arundel Medical Center Auxiliary. She worked in The Clothes Box well into her nineties, providing bookkeeping support for the hospital’s popular consignment clothing store.
Betts and Bill enjoyed sailing wherever they lived and owned many types of sailboats over the years. They enjoyed active memberships in the Annapolis Yacht Club and the USNA Officers’ Club. Chesapeake Bay Magazine of August 1978 featured “Sunk”, a story penned by Betts which told of their adventures in recovering a wooden sailboat they owned that sank in Weems Creek in Annapolis following a storm.
In the late fifties, they discovered Bethany Beach, DE, which became a beloved family vacation spot. In 1958 they built an early cottage there of Bill’s design. Two of the children maintain homes (including the original cottage) there even today.
Following Bill’s death in 2007, Betts moved from the residence in Wardour to Baywoods of Annapolis the following summer. She became an active participant in her new community, joining in exercise classes, attending lectures and arts performances, and writing a regular column for “The Breeze”, the residents’ newsletter.
She is survived by her three children and their families: Elizabeth (Leigh) Divine Gruber and husband Alan of Annapolis; Edward (Ward) Divine and wife Christy of Savannah, GA; and Eleanor (Lynn) Divine Goff and husband Randy of Arnold, MD. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren are: Ryan Goff and his wife Suchi Mohanty and their sons Samir and Sunil of Durham, NC; Bethany Goff Sterner and her husband Jeremy and their children Ethan, Ben and Ellia of Arnold, MD; Erin Goff Miller and husband Matt of Chicago. IL; Christine McDonald and her partner Chris Marek and their son Kellan of Pawleys Island, SC; Kimberly Ely and her daughters Lucy and Eleanor of Annapolis; Chris Divine and his wife Sara and their son Greyson of Marietta, GA; step-grandsons Scott Gruber and his wife Corryn and their son Adam of Manville, NJ; and Jon Gruber and his wife Sheena and their daughters Lara and Isla of Sneads Ferry, NC. Mrs. Divine was predeceased by a grandson, Tasker Divine, of Savannah, GA.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by John M Taylor Funeral Home of Annapolis, MD. Private interment at the Naval Academy Columbarium at a later date.
Remembrances to Anne Arundel Medical Center Foundation, 2001 Medical Parkway, Annapolis, MD 21401, or online at www.aahs.org, or to a charity of your choice.
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