Sierra Leone RPCV Elizabeth "Betsy" Eberhardt dies at 88



Sierra Leone RPCV Elizabeth "Betsy" Eberhardt dies at 88

Elizabeth "Betsy" Eberhardt

The flier for Elizabeth "Betsy" Eberhardt's memorial service shows her walking down Main Street in Sebastopol's Apple Blossom Parade. Even those who didn't know her name might recognize her familiar figure, smiling brightly, long white hair in a bandana, holding onto a walker, her body bent from osteoporosis and carrying a placard in support of the United Nations.

A longtime peace and justice activist, Eberhardt, 88, died June 20 at her Sebastopol home.

A memorial service will be held Aug. 28 at noon at the Odd Fellows Hall in Santa Rosa, followed by a potluck gathering at her rural Sebastopol home, known as Magic Mountain, now a retreat center.

Eberhardt was most visible as an activist although she worked throughout her life as an educator.

She taught at Forestville Elementary School and at the American Schools in Milan and New Delhi; trained teachers in Sierra Leone with the Peace Corps; and past retirement age, taught at the Tutoring Center at Santa Rosa Junior College.

A native of Glendale, she married Del Eberhardt, a Methodist minister with whom she had three children. After being divorced in 1950, she went to San Jose State College to get her teaching credential, and worked odd jobs, including picking apricots. She left California with her children to teach in Manchester, England, and in 1965 the family moved to Sonoma County.

She continued to travel, often alone, throughout the world. "She was fearless, often hitchhiking in places not used to seeing an older woman with a long white braid walking briskly along the roadside," said her friend Tanja Bee of Sebastopol.

Even though she had heart problems and suffered a series of small strokes, she remained active in advocating for the United Nations, giving school workshops on the organization and writing letters to the editor on its behalf.

She served on the board of the Sonoma County Chapter for the United Nations for more than 25 years.

"Betsy had a vision of the way the world ought to be, and she never wavered from that. She believed in a more peaceful world. Someone referred to her once as an institution in herself," said her friend Judy Temko.

She belonged to the Sonoma County Taxes for Peace, the Peace and Justice Center, Amnesty International and the Russian River Watershed Project.

She did draft counseling and could boast about being arrested 31 times for demonstrating on everything from anti-nuclear to anti-war. She told people that judges recognized her and would say, "Oh no, not you again" before dismissing her, probably because of her age and infirmities.

Aided by the Redwood Forest Meeting and other Quaker groups, she built a log home on property on Barnett Valley Road outside Sebastopol that she called Magic Mountain. The retreat hosted gatherings of such groups as the the Veterans Viet Nam Restoration Project and Alternatives to Violence Project.

She is survived by her children Jerome Eberhardt of Hawaii and Karen Eberhardt Shelton of England; three grandchildren; and her brother, Frank Newby. Her daughter, Rosemary Moracha, preceeded her in death.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Friends Service Committee or the Fellowship of Reconciliation.

- Susan Swartz

When this story was prepared, here was the front page of PCOL magazine:

This Month's Issue: August 2004 Teresa Heinz Kerry celebrates the Peace Corps Volunteer as one of the best faces America has ever projected in a speech to the Democratic Convention. The National Review disagreed and said that Heinz's celebration of the PCV was "truly offensive." What's your opinion and who can come up with the funniest caption for our Current Events Funny? Exclusive: Director Vasquez speaks out in an op-ed published exclusively on the web by Peace Corps Online saying the Dayton Daily News' portrayal of Peace Corps "doesn't jibe with facts." In other news, the NPCA makes the case for improving governance and explains the challenges facing the organization, RPCV Bob Shaconis says Peace Corps has been a "sacred cow", RPCV Shaun McNally picks up support for his Aug 10 primary and has a plan to win in Connecticut, and the movie "Open Water" based on the negligent deaths of two RPCVs in Australia opens August 6. Op-ed's by RPCVs: Cops of the World is not a good goal and Peace Corps must emphasize community development.

Read the stories and leave your comments.

By Anonymous (72.169.215.4) on Tuesday, May 01, 2007 - 12:52 am: Edit Post

UPDATED POST, re: "Betsy" Elizabeth Eberhardt,
from EBERHARDT FAMILY members:

August 21, 2004: Headlines: COS - Sierra Leone: Obituaries: Press Democrat: Sierra Leone RPCV Elizabeth "Betsy" Eberhardt dies at 88
Peace Corps Online: Directory: Sierra Leone: Peace Corps Sierra Leone : The Peace Corps in Sierra Leone: August 21, 2004: Headlines: COS - Sierra Leone: Obituaries: Press Democrat: Sierra Leone RPCV Elizabeth "Betsy" Eberhardt dies at 88
By Admin1 (admin) (pool-151-196-239-147.balt.east.verizon.net - 151.196.239.147) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 04:57 pm: Edit


Sierra Leone RPCV Elizabeth "Betsy" Eberhardt dies at 88



Sierra Leone RPCV Elizabeth "Betsy" Eberhardt dies at 88

Elizabeth "Betsy" Eberhardt

The flier for Elizabeth "Betsy" Eberhardt's memorial service shows her walking down Main Street in Sebastopol's Apple Blossom Parade. Even those who didn't know her name might recognize her familiar figure, smiling brightly, long white hair in a bandanna, holding onto a walker, her body bent from osteoporosis and carrying a placard in support of the United Nations.

A longtime peace and justice activist, Eberhardt, 88, died June 20 at her Sebastopol home.

A memorial service will be held Aug. 28 at noon at the Odd Fellows Hall in Santa Rosa, followed by a potluck gathering at her rural Sebastopol home, known as Magic Mountain, now a retreat center.

In honor of a living testament to Betsy, there were literally hundreds of people who came to the memorial service held in the large “Odd Fellows Hall”, some of whom came from foreign countries to honor her. Her “more personal” memorial service “Potluck” gathering - was an “Elbow room” only affair.

Betsy Eberhardt was most visible as an activist although she worked throughout her life as an educator.

She began her teaching career at Sunnyvale, CA where she taught a wide range of classes from Kindergarden the way up thru College level. She was “most warmed” by 2nd and 3rd graders, which she mostly settled on during her 15 year stint in Sunnyvale school districts as well as in later schools. In the summer of 1965, she was accepted 120 miles north of Sunnyvale (about 60 miles north of San Francisco, CA) where she taught at Forestville Elementary School: This done in spite of “loosing” her 15 years of retirement tenure and funds! She used the sale of her Silicon Valley home in “Mountain View” which even though now is a historical landmark and worth millions, back at that time it would only fetch $25,000.00 which she used to purchase a identically priced home 5 miles west of Sebastopol, CA.

Betsy as everyone called her, had strong callings to “get out into the world” the partial results being multi-year stints at the American Schools in Milan, Italy and New Delhi, India; She loved the country of India so much, she extended her contract for a double stint, during which time she would become what now would be called a “hybrid Christian: She believed that God resided in ALL mankind and every stop towards whatever one labeled a “higher power” was a step in the right direction. After New Delhi, India, she came back to Forestville Elementary school for a few years, while she desperately tried everything to be accepted into the Peace Corps: It took her years to get certified to serve, as she had to have “prove” she was physically fit enough to enter even though she was at the time about 66 years old. She persevered, took tests to prove her fitness and off she went to AFRICA!

While in Africa, she trained teachers in the small country known as Sierra Leone with the Peace Corps even signing on for an extra year she liked it so much. Upon her return, she started to have serious bouts of ANGINA which when diagnosed resulted in her getting a triple heart bypass. After recovery, she was past retirement age, so took on as many odd jobs teaching as a substitute and spent her final earning years being a teacher at the Tutoring Center at Santa Rosa Junior College. On a “Fiscal” note: She was a Bona-fide member of the California Teachers Association for 25 years, yet her 38 years (total) of teaching netted her only ~ $270.00/month in teachers retirement, which had escalated all the way up to $450.00/month at the time of her death: Using that as well as what ALSO amounted to ~ $450.00/month from Social Security at the time of her death in 2004, she always used most of her income as small as it was, in pursuit of her causes for peace and nonviolence projects up till just days before her death: This where she attended a “Sonoma County United Nations Chapter” monthly meeting (she founded the Sonoma County chapter 30 years previously!)

A native of Glendale, she married Del Eberhardt, a Methodist minister later to become an Unitarian Preacher, with whom she had three children. After being divorced in 1950, she went to San Jose State College beginning in 1952 to get her teaching credential taking her youngest child Jerome (who would sit under the Oak and Elm trees all day waiting for her classes to be finished as she had no money to spend on a caretaker, and worked odd jobs while caring for her 3 young children, including picking apricots. She left California with her children to teach in Manchester, England for 1-year on an “Exchange Teacher” program, then came back to Sunnyvale school district: The Apricot, Oranges, and Cherry orchards which surrounded her home in “Mountain View” near Sunnyvale all were torn out in the name of progress but this asphalt and concrete jungle was the complete opposite to her very strong “Nature” values. Thus, in 1965 the family moved to into the mountains outside Sebastopol, in Sonoma County, CA.

In between her teaching jobs but prior to her heart bypass, she continued to travel, often alone, throughout the world. "She was fearless, often hitchhiking in places not used to seeing an older woman with a LONG white braid walking briskly along the roadside," said her friend Tanja Bee of Sebastopol. Her also son added; “she would NEVER stay at a hotel unless it was absolutely the ONLY way she could find shelter, she would usually make friends and be invited into their homes throughout the world. Also, she was SO frugal so she would have money for MORE IMPORTANT things (read: Her “causes, her life work!) that she almost never ate any prepared food either: She would just buy what the locals bought, and make something up. Every now and again, she would go into the cheapest “local” restaurant hangout, just to see what they were eating like, but this was the rare occasion. Normally, she would just find a tree to lean up against, and take her “open market” bought food, and make do as best she could. She was the most frugal person I have ever met”.

Even though she had heart problems and suffered a series of small strokes, she remained active in advocating for the United Nations as well as running the Sonoma Country Chapter of the UNICEF program which again, she started there, organized everything plus and ran the program there for 20 years. Her dream was to devote herself and her vision, giving school workshops on the organization and writing letters to the editor on its behalf. Her work would involve many workshops in her home over a period of 20 years: From the days of “Cesar Chavez” to the 30+ weekend retreats she hosted in her home for the “Alternatives to Violence Project” training and facilitator workshops, to another organization with a group of Vietnam Veterans who call their group the “Veterans Viet Nam Restoration Project” and dozens of other groups who reserved weekend for retreats on Magic Mountain held within Betsy's own home. From all those retreats of groups of people who met at her home for these weekend retreats many many times, she was almost the heart-beat of “Non-Violence in Sonoma County; demonstrating in the name of peace; to doing her active bit of hosting so many different groups in her home on these weekend retreats: She was genuinely one who showed by her actions what one could do if motivated enough.

Having brought it to Sonoma County, she served on the board of the Sonoma County Chapter for the United Nations for more than 25 years.

"Betsy had a vision of the way the world ought to be, and she never wavered from that. She believed in a more peaceful world. Someone referred to her once as an institution in herself," said her friend Judy Tiemko who worked with Betsy throughout the area on the UNICEF project.

Betsy belonged to the Sonoma County Taxes for Peace, the Peace and Justice Center, Amnesty International, the Russian River Watershed Project as well as literally dozens of other organizations which she actively supported both through donations as well as the giving of her time and energy.

During the days of the “Draft”, she did constant draft counseling to any young man (or older!) who wanted it, as well as organizing numerous “open” to the public town meetings for all to attend. She would do all the organizing and ran this program year after year, even after the draft was dropped; she did not want anybody to enter the military under misunderstood reasons nor as a result of the strong draw the military held out to young candidates as she was very spiritually bound by the belief that the killing of other humans in the name of justice or freedom was just plain wrong. She was an extremely devoted anti-war personality and could boast about being arrested 36 times for demonstrating on everything from anti-nuclear to anti-war. She told people that when arraigned after being arrested and incarcerated, finally being brought in front of the court, many of the judges recognized her and would say, "Oh no, not YOU again, go on, get out of here!" then frequently dismissing her without charges, probably because of her age and infirmities. However, she DID spend many a weekend or night in a cold cell along with her fellow younger protesters; she on more than one occasion had to get “laid up” by the cold or flu she got in these miserable conditions as usually the police did not distribute blankets either because they did not care or just did not have enough. She told her son, that it was hard to sit in a mass of people all night or even for days, on the cold concrete, and not get sick... She could NOT understand why the jail was kept so cold at the taxpayers expense!

Aided by the Redwood Forest Meeting (which she was instrumental in getting started in Santa Rosa or Sonoma County in general) plus other Quaker groups, she built a “Prefab Cedar Log” home on her property on Barnett Valley Road outside Sebastopol, which her youngest daughter Rosemary (who died from Lung Cancer prior to her mother) gave the name “Magic Mountain” way back in the Seventies; which caught-on and everyone to this day refers to the land in that name.

Elizabeth Eberhardt, lets just call her Betsy, is survived by her children Jerome Eberhardt who is now running the land and Karen Eberhardt Shelton of England (the “Sheltons” being of a very long family tree history from Betsy's side); three grandchildren; and her brother, Frank Newby. Her daughter, Rosemary Moracha (this last name being taken from a previous marriage), preceded her in death.

Memorial contributions may be made to the American Friends Service Committee or the Fellowship of Reconciliation.

- Susan Swartz


When this story was prepared, here was the front page of PCOL magazine:
This Month's Issue: August 2004
Teresa Heinz Kerry celebrates the Peace Corps Volunteer as one of the best faces America has ever projected in a speech to the Democratic Convention. The National Review disagreed and said that Heinz's celebration of the PCV was "truly offensive." What's your opinion and who can come up with the funniest caption for our Current Events Funny?

Exclusive: Director Vasquez speaks out in an op-ed published exclusively on the web by Peace Corps Online saying the Dayton Daily News' portrayal of Peace Corps "doesn't jibe with facts."

In other news, the NPCA makes the case for improving governance and explains the challenges facing the organization, RPCV Bob Shaconis says Peace Corps has been a "sacred cow", RPCV Shaun McNally picks up support for his Aug 10 primary and has a plan to win in Connecticut, and the movie "Open Water" based on the negligent deaths of two RPCVs in Australia opens August 6. Op-ed's by RPCVs: Cops of the World is not a good goal and Peace Corps must emphasize community development.

Read the stories and leave your comments.



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Story Source: Press Democrat

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Sierra Leone; Obituaries

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