Cremation: 25 Sep 2022
Ashes Scattered: Fri, 21 Apr 2023, 1:30 pm
Mrs. Elizabeth* Wharton (Niehl**) Abbe, Ph.D.
*Although named Elizabeth, after her mother's mother, she was always called Betsy by family and friends.
**She was the daughter of an unwed mother, who had assumed the fictional wedded surname of Niehl. Betsy always used Niehl as her maiden surname.
Age: 86 yrs. 5 mos. 6 dys.
D/O Odale Dabney Waters, Sr. & Harriet Lewis (Wharton) Niehl
W/O Earl Clifton Abbe, II; m 1 Jun 1968, Augustana Lutheran Church, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
- M/O Kenneth Hatheway Abbe, Esq.
- M/O Alexander Earl Abbe, Esq.
Remembrance of Betsy Abbe, Sep 2022 by Earl Abbe:
My wife, Elizabeth Wharton (Niehl) Abbe died Saturday evening, Sept. 10, 2022, at La Casa Via Transitional Care Center in Walnut Creek, California, after a lengthy illness. She was a gentle, considerate person who was universally liked.
Betsy was born in Richmond, a child of a long term liaison between a traveling salesman and a rural Virginia school teacher. Her mother, Harriet Niehl, who was then 45 and fiercely independent, raised Betsy alone and ensured that Betsy would pursue education and learn to play the violin well.
A very smart woman, Betsy earned degrees from Oberlin College and Brown University, a Ph.D. degree from the University of North Carolina, and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She worked almost all of her professional life for various Federal Government agencies. The last decade or so she showed the military how to plan to invade countries efficiently.
Betsy and I had two wonderful sons, Kenneth and Alexander, and were trying for a third child when an ectopic pregnancy almost killed her. At that point we decided to stop at two. Being skilled with the violin, she became a "Suzuki mother", imparting the love of music to our children.
Both Betsy and I had good jobs for agencies of the Federal government. These good jobs enabled us to fully fund the college expenses of our sons.
Because Betsy had stayed home with the children when they were small, I was able to retire before she could. On the subject of retirement, she told me, "Dear, you can retire whenever you want. But be aware, if you retire before I do, I will kill you." By some strange coincidence, we both retired on July 1, 2000.
In retirement, we built a house in the woods of New Hampshire, developing a lifestyle of living in New Hampshire in the warmer months, (where I have close family), and wintering in California (where our sons live).
Betsy loved hiking ever since she was introduced to it by her mother in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. I proposed to her (and she accepted) very shortly after we had hiked the Billy Goat Trail together in the Washington, DC area.
Small children and employment interfered with this activity. However, once we retired, we became very active in hiking on both coasts and kayaking in New Hampshire. This continued for perhaps nineteen years.
It was her greatest disappointment when declining health restricted these activities and she always was working to recover her ability to hike.
What more should I say? Well, Betsy loved to cook and to do the associated grocery shopping. The results were delicious. (I owe my current portly shape to her culinary skills.)
I have not yet come to grips with the loss of my wife, helpmate, friend, lover, the mother of our children. We were married for 54 years, but it does not seem to have been very long. I will always miss her.
Memorial Service: 11:00 am, Saturday, December 3, at Mount Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church, 55 Eckley Lane, Walnut Creek, CA 94596.
In lieu of flowers, please direct memorial gifts to the Mount Diablo UU Church or to a charity of your choice.
Cremation: 25 Sep 2022
Ashes Scattered: Fri, 21 Apr 2023, 1:30 pm
Mrs. Elizabeth* Wharton (Niehl**) Abbe, Ph.D.
*Although named Elizabeth, after her mother's mother, she was always called Betsy by family and friends.
**She was the daughter of an unwed mother, who had assumed the fictional wedded surname of Niehl. Betsy always used Niehl as her maiden surname.
Age: 86 yrs. 5 mos. 6 dys.
D/O Odale Dabney Waters, Sr. & Harriet Lewis (Wharton) Niehl
W/O Earl Clifton Abbe, II; m 1 Jun 1968, Augustana Lutheran Church, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
- M/O Kenneth Hatheway Abbe, Esq.
- M/O Alexander Earl Abbe, Esq.
Remembrance of Betsy Abbe, Sep 2022 by Earl Abbe:
My wife, Elizabeth Wharton (Niehl) Abbe died Saturday evening, Sept. 10, 2022, at La Casa Via Transitional Care Center in Walnut Creek, California, after a lengthy illness. She was a gentle, considerate person who was universally liked.
Betsy was born in Richmond, a child of a long term liaison between a traveling salesman and a rural Virginia school teacher. Her mother, Harriet Niehl, who was then 45 and fiercely independent, raised Betsy alone and ensured that Betsy would pursue education and learn to play the violin well.
A very smart woman, Betsy earned degrees from Oberlin College and Brown University, a Ph.D. degree from the University of North Carolina, and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She worked almost all of her professional life for various Federal Government agencies. The last decade or so she showed the military how to plan to invade countries efficiently.
Betsy and I had two wonderful sons, Kenneth and Alexander, and were trying for a third child when an ectopic pregnancy almost killed her. At that point we decided to stop at two. Being skilled with the violin, she became a "Suzuki mother", imparting the love of music to our children.
Both Betsy and I had good jobs for agencies of the Federal government. These good jobs enabled us to fully fund the college expenses of our sons.
Because Betsy had stayed home with the children when they were small, I was able to retire before she could. On the subject of retirement, she told me, "Dear, you can retire whenever you want. But be aware, if you retire before I do, I will kill you." By some strange coincidence, we both retired on July 1, 2000.
In retirement, we built a house in the woods of New Hampshire, developing a lifestyle of living in New Hampshire in the warmer months, (where I have close family), and wintering in California (where our sons live).
Betsy loved hiking ever since she was introduced to it by her mother in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. I proposed to her (and she accepted) very shortly after we had hiked the Billy Goat Trail together in the Washington, DC area.
Small children and employment interfered with this activity. However, once we retired, we became very active in hiking on both coasts and kayaking in New Hampshire. This continued for perhaps nineteen years.
It was her greatest disappointment when declining health restricted these activities and she always was working to recover her ability to hike.
What more should I say? Well, Betsy loved to cook and to do the associated grocery shopping. The results were delicious. (I owe my current portly shape to her culinary skills.)
I have not yet come to grips with the loss of my wife, helpmate, friend, lover, the mother of our children. We were married for 54 years, but it does not seem to have been very long. I will always miss her.
Memorial Service: 11:00 am, Saturday, December 3, at Mount Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church, 55 Eckley Lane, Walnut Creek, CA 94596.
In lieu of flowers, please direct memorial gifts to the Mount Diablo UU Church or to a charity of your choice.
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BETSY ABBE
1936-2022
