Betty Kragelund Bois

Born at home in Falmouth Foreside on June 23, 1925, Betty was the elder daughter of Helen Haggett and Christian Gotfried Kragelund. The family moved to Portland in 1927 where they lived on Danforth Street.

Betty graduated from Deering High School in 1943. Tall and lanky, she was a keen athlete, riding horses, playing tennis and ice skating. She began her college career at Bates College, Lewiston in the autumn of 1943. The following summer, while on vacation with a college friend and fellow camp counsellor, Betty contracted polio, an event which ‘changed her life forever’.

After a year of therapy filled with the fierce determination ‘not to live the rest of her life in a wheelchair’, Betty chose to return to Bates for the 1945-46 academic year. However, she was not clear what she wanted to study and returned to the family home in Portland. From 1946 to 1952, she worked at Porteous, Mitchell & Braun in the accounting department. Her facility with finances was a skill she continued to use as treasurer in many of the charities she supported over the following decades.

On August 26, 1953, after telling her parents she was going for a ride with (Eloi) Joel Bois, ‘the boy next door’, Betty and Joel eloped to Concord, NH. They returned to Portland to welcoming (if slightly startled) families and then in September, moved together to Palo Alto, California, where Joel had been working. They returned to Portland in August 1954, eventually settling on Blackstrap Road in Falmouth, where they lived until 2010, bringing up their three ‘perfect’ daughters: Jo-Ellen of Bellevue, WA; Suzette of South Portland; and Carol-Anne (Maitripushpa) of London, England. Joel died in 2011.

Betty’s energy, organizational skills and intellect spread well beyond her family. She was an active member of a number of patriotic organizations, beginning with the Daughters of the American Revolution which she joined in 1955, was State Regent of their Maine chapter and was a life member. Her roles in other organizations included State Regent (Daughters of American Colonists), State President (Colonial Dames of the 17th Century), President (New England Women; Daughters of Colonial Wars) as well as being a past member of the Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims. She worked as a crew leader on the 1970 US Census and was a Girl Scout leader and member of the Falmouth Congregational Church.

A lifelong reader, sometimes reading 100+ books a year, including mysteries and crime novels set in Britain, Betty was a mean Scrabble player (an old family steno book of Scrabble games between Betty and Joel show scores of 300+ per game!). She also enjoyed crossword and jigsaw puzzles and, in later years, coloring with flair and a sense of humor. Her endless curiosity about the world saw her travelling to 29 countries and 37 US states in her long life.

Betty leaves behind her sister Joanne Zeboski (‘Dody’) of Cape Elizabeth, her three beloved daughters of whom she was incredibly proud, three sons-in-law (Gregory Smith, John Schnell, Norman Blair), two granddaughters (Fiona and Adrien) and their partners (Chris Piasecki and Alex Harrall), two great-grandchildren (Micah and Josephine) and a grand-bear (Baba). Her ashes will be interred with her husband’s at Maine Veterans Cemetery, Augusta, Maine.

The family would like to thank the staff at St Joseph’s Rehabilitation and Residence in Portland for their kindness and care of Bettys.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations in her memory to the Nature Conservancy (online: preserve.nature.org; by mail: The Nature Conservancy, Attn: Treasury, 4245 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203 USA).

Please visit www.jonesrichandbarnes.com to leave condolences for the Bois family and sign Betty's online guest book.