Betsy McAlister, 78, of Yerington, NV, departed us on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2001.
She was born July 7, 1922 in Milburn, New Jersey, to Carroll Eckel and Edna James Krichbaum, and raised in Montclair, N.J., where she was educated at the Kimberley School. After graduating from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass. in 1943, she served our nation during World War II in Washington D.C, attaining the rank of Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy WAVES. It was there that she met Navy Lieutenant Edgar McAlister of American Falls, Idaho. They were married in 1947 and settled briefly in Schenectady, New York, before coming west to raise a family in the mining communities of Darwin, CA., Yerington, NV., Tooele, UT, and Tucson, AZ. She and Edgar returned to
Yerington in 1989.
A lover of arts and learning, Betsy was also active for over 40 years in PEO, an organization dedicated to advancing women's education. In Utah, as a member of Chapter G, she rose to the post of PEO State Treasurer. She was a member of Chapter O in Yerington. For her community, she organized an annual Tooele exhibition of paintings and sculpture by Utah artists, arranged for local performances by the Utah Symphony Orchestra through the Symphony's Community Concerts program, and by the University of Utah Young People's Theater, and was active in the Tooele Community Theater Guild. She was employed by the Tooele Transcript-Bulletin as a social notes columnist and feature reporter. For her children, she was a tireless mentor, faithful room mother and member of the PTA. In Tucson, she was a member of the Saguaro Forest Associates, a local organization dedicated to preserving the Saguaro National Monument from urban encroachment.
She is survived by her husband, Edgar; four children, six grandchildren, and a brother, James W. Krichbaum, of Lebanon Pines, MS. Children include Ann George, Salt Lake City; Steve McAlister, Tolland, Mass; Hilary Herrera, Long Beach, CA; and Bruce McAlister, San Jose, CA. The family suggests that donations be made in Betsy's name to the PEO Scholarship Fund, an animal charity, or the charity of your choice.