Elizabeth Dean Katz

Elizabeth (Betsy) Katz, beloved wife of Richard (Dick) Katz, passed away November 22nd after a 12 year fight with bone cancer. Betsy was born in Bridgeport Connecticut to Ralph and Eleanor Dean. She graduated from UConn in 1958 and went to work for United Technology Research before marrying John Krieger in 1960. Her son, Jim, was born in 1960 and they soon moved to Simsbury where Bob was born in 1964. John Krieger passed away in 1970. Betsy was a widow for 10 years. In those years in Simsbury, she was active in the Junior Women’s Club performing skits as a part of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy to promote health and safety, worked the switchboard at Simsbury High School, and was an integral part of the Simsbury 300th anniversary celebration. In 1977, Dick Katz came along and her life was changed. They married in 1979 and moved to Glastonbury where Betsy immediately immersed herself in her “new town”. She was a vital part of the then, new Audubon Center, starting yearly auctions as fundraisers and working in the Audubon store. Betsy kick started the new version of the Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce Apple Harvest Festival. She co-chaired the 300th anniversary of Glastonbury in 1993. She chaired the Glastonbury recreation commission for six years. She was also well-known for dressing like a grub or a dandelion promoting Scotts lawn care products at Katz Ace Hardware. In 2000, they moved to Sunapee, New Hampshire to concentrate on golf, tennis, skiing and hiking Mount Washington. Betsy quickly part of the new community. She served many years on the Sunapee Recreation Committee. She could often be seen helping maintain the beautiful flowers I Sunapee Harbor working with the Sunapee Beautification Committee. Hearing that a historically significant building which was once a livery building and later became the Town Hall and Police Department was to be torn down, she worked hard against all odds to get the building on the state registry as Seven to Save. The building is now being used as a town center. As Betsy and Dick loved live theatre, they were quickly involved in the Barn Playhouse in New London, New Hampshire and each year mentored one of the actors. They also helped backstage at Northern Stage, a professional theatre in White River Junction, Vermont. 18 months ago, they moved to the retirement community of Essex Meadows in Essex Connecticut to be closer to all their kids and grandkids.

In addition to her beloved husband Dick, Betsy leaves her two sons and their wives, Jim and Bette Jean Krieger of Gloucester Mass. and their children, Hannah and Alex and Bob and Shannon Krieger of Glastonbury and their children, Calvin, Nolan, and Teagan. She also leaves her sister Nancy Nowak and her husband, Leonard of Duxbury Mass. and their two children, Deborah and Jason Verner and their children, Ben, Sarah, and Kyle of Acton, Mass. and Tom and Erica Nowak of Cape Town, South Africa and their two children, Julian and Claire. She also leaves Dick’s three daughters and their children, Robin Cohen, her husband Eric and their children, Jacob, Laura and Samantha of West Hartford, Susan Klapisch and her son, Jacques of Newton, Mass. and Deborah Katz of Franklin, Mass.

Betsy loved choral music and sang in Congregational church choirs in New London, New Hampshire, and Simsbury, Glastonbury, and Old Lyme, Connecticut.

Memorial services will be held at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, 2 Ferry Rd., Old Lyme, CT on Saturday, December 2nd at 1pm. A reception will follow at the church. Burial is private and at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Betsy’s memory to the American Cancer Society, at www.cancer.org . Glastonbury Funeral Home is assisting with arrangements. To leave an online condolence, please visit www.glastonburyfuneral.com