Elizabeth Patterson Allner

Elizabeth Patterson ( Betty) was born in Littleton, North Carolina on March 13, 1926, but she was raised in Baltimore attending Roland Park School. Graduating during WW II, she was a Rosie the Riveter for the Glenn L. Martin Company which later became Martin Marietta Corporation. In her early 20s, she worked for the Central Intelligence Agency in Europe. On May 8, 1953, she married Frederick Abels Allner, Jr. , also of Baltimore, who was a covert operations specialist for the CIA. Betty supported her husband's career in the US Embassies of Jakarta, Indonesia, Vienna, Austria, Bonn and Stuttgart, Germany and Bern, Switzerland. She entertained embassy guests, becoming a gourmet cook, an avid gardener and flower arranger.

In 1992, she graduated from The University of Maryland at the age of 66 with a BA in Art History. She was the oldest in her graduating class. Betty served as a docent for the National Gallery of Art. A self-taught investor, she was successful in the stock market and read The Wall Street Journal and Baron's regularly. An excellent athlete, she learned to ski and play tennis in her 40s. She played tennis regularly until 5 years before her death.

Betty had four children, Frederick Abels Allner, III of Glyndon, Maryland, Allen Spotswood Allner of Arlington, Virginia, First Lieutenant Carter Burwell Allner USMC, who predeceased her, and Page Allner Tyran of Napa, California. Cherished grandmother of Keith West Tyran, Charlotte Lyles Tyran, Catherine Elizabeth Allner, Alexandra Carter Allner, Allen Spotswood Allner, Jr., Carter Kinsley Allner, and Frederick Abbot Allner.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Arlington National Cemetery c/o Wreaths Across America, PO Box 249, Columbia Falls, Maine 04623.