Obituary: Elizabeth Hansen Friday

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Elizabeth Hansen Friday of Greenwich, died peacefully on May 24 at the age of 88.

Born Elizabeth Ann Hansen on Jan. 23, 1929 in Vancouver, British Columbia, to parents Lester Ward Hansen and Elizabeth Ann Morrison, Betts spent her early years in the Pacific Northwest with her mother and stepfather, Dr. Richard Eugene Fuller of Seattle, Wa., after which she lived most of her life in Greenwich.

Betts attended Smith College in Northampton, Mass., and graduated from Mills College in Oakland, Calif.

She married John Ernest Friday, Jr., of Pittsburgh, Penn., on Nov. 26, 1955.

Betts was an avid collector of modern art and worked at The Sidney Janis Gallery in New York City. Later, with partners, she opened Gallery 3 in Greenwich, featuring both local and Haitian contemporary artists.

Over many years in the Greenwich community, Betts ran the hospital’s Art Cart, delivering updated art to patients’ rooms. She managed Nathaniel Witherell’s greenhouse, and volunteered at The Bruce Museum.  She was a long-standing member of Hortulus garden club and received many accolades for horticulture and floral design, including the coveted Fenwick Award.

Betts is survived by her former husband, John Friday, Jr., of Lyme, Conn.; her children and their respective spouses, John Ernest Friday III and his wife, Denise, of Hilton Head, S.C.; Andrew Hansen Friday of Seattle, Wa.; Richard Fuller Friday and his wife, Kathleen, of Chatham, N.J.; and Elizabeth Friday Spears and her husband, Brian, of Fairfield, Conn.; and seven grandchildren.

A service celebrating her life will be held at The Field Club of Greenwich on Aug. 3 at 11 a.m. To leave an online condolence, please visit castiglionefh.com

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