Newington Obituary: Elizabeth Dougherty, 84

Elizabeth "Betsy" Dougherty, 84, of Newington, passed away peacefully in her sleep on October 13th, 2016. She was the beloved wife of the late James Dougherty of Portland.

She was born to Kenneth and Edith Barber in Windsor.

Betsy is survived by a son Ronald Dougherty, Daughter Linda Dougherty, her partner Michael Seamon, a grandaughter Laura Caron, her husband Stephen Swanson and their daughter Maddison. Betsy is also survived by her brothers Dr. Donald Barber and Robert Barber and many nieces and nephews.

Betsy earned a degree in Psychology from Bates College and earned her certification as a Registered Occupational Therapist from the Boston School of Occupational Therapy. She worked for the State of Connecticut as an Occupational Therapist for over 40 years.

She was a devout member of Emmanuel Baptist Church for over 40 years, where she was involved with the deaf ministry and library. Betsy was a volunteer for the American School for the Deaf and Self Help for the Hard of Hearing of Newington and was involved with the Newington Senior Center and was a member of the National Audubon Society. Betsy was a life-long student who valued education, enjoyed her family, her beloved pets, gardening and teaching sign language.

Visitation will be Monday, October 17th, from 5pm-8pm at Rose Hill Funeral Home, 580 Elm St., Rocky Hill. The funeral service will be Tuesday, October 18th, at 11am at Emmanuel Baptist Church, 296 New Britain Ave., Newington, followed by a reception also at the church. The burial will be at 3pm at Rose Hill Memorial Park in Rocky Hill.

The family would like to deeply thank the staff of Arden Courts of Farmington and McClean Hospice for their exceptional care and support for our family.

In lieu of flowers, those interested may make a donation to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation or the American Cancer Society.