On Monday, Aug. 21, 2023, Elizabeth “Betsy” Crawford Beddoe Berger Littleton, the loving mother of three children and grandmother to four, passed away at the age of 83, at Life Care Center of Sparta.
Betsy was born June 19, 1940, in Toronto, Ontario (Canada), to George Halsey Beddoe and Elizabeth Parrish Beddoe. Though born in Canada, she was declared an American citizen just one year later, in 1941, and moved with her family to various cities in the United States before settling in Ashland, Kentucky, in 1949. There, the Beddoe family raised three children, including Betsy’s older sister, Polly, and younger brother, Joby. They were active members at Calvary Episcopal Church, and Betsy attended Bellefonte Elementary School, Putnam Junior High, and Ashland High School. She graduated from the boarding preparatory school, Stuart Hall School, in Staunton, Virginia, and earned a B.A. in French from Wellesley College (1961), in Massachusetts.
After graduation, Betsy enjoyed working as a research librarian at the Rockefeller Foundation, in New York City. She returned to Ashland to marry Stephen Ernest Berger, on June 9, 1962. They had three children, George Adam Berger (Lara), of Davidson, North Carolina; Mary Elizabeth Berger Davis (Walter “Bunker”), of Knoxville, Tennessee; and Robert Parrish Berger, of Sparta, Tennessee, and they enjoyed life with extended family nearby. In 1975, the family moved to Houston, Texas, and in 1986 to Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Betsy and Steve were married for 28 years, until his death, on March 11, 1991. She married Robert Dale Littleton, on Aug. 9, 1992, and moved to Clanton, Alabama. Robert passed away May 28, 1998.
Betsy loved her four grandchildren: Ryan Scott Davis, Patrick Walker Davis, Nolan Blake Davis, and Mary Elizabeth “Emmy” Berger. She was a devoted caretaker for both friends and family in need throughout her life.
Betsy was a devout Christian and attended many churches. throughout her long life, the last being Collins Chapel Baptist Church, in Clanton, Alabama. She was, among many other things, a voracious letter writer, stalwart choir member, horse racing fan, amateur guitarist, Crimson Tide football fan, short-time commercial truck driver, world traveler, and prayer warrior extraordinaire.
She was preceded in death by her mother, father, and her sister, Mary Inglis “Polly” Beddoe Jett.
She is survived by her three children; four grandchildren; and her brother, George Beddoe III, of Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Visitation for Elizabeth Beddoe Berger Littleton will be 10-11 a.m., Aug. 26, 2023, at Hunter Funeral Home. Funeral service will follow at 11 a.m., with burial in Oak Lawn Cemetery, after the service.
Hunter Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
