FAY, Elizabeth (Betty) Guillaume Of Wellesley, passed on peacefully at home on May 29, 2019 in the loving arms of her children, grandchildren and two canine friends. Almost 97 years of warmth, humor and boundless love centered her extensive family. She was predeceased by the love of her life, James Gavin Fay.
Mom grew up in Jackson, Michigan with her parents, Ernest and Margaret Guillaume, sister, Margery Belanger and brother, John Guillaume. Laughing, she’d tell stories of swamping canoes in Clarke’s Lake and tying Brownie the goat to the wagon to go for a ride. College brought her to South Bend, Indiana and St. Mary’s College, where the rules raised her ire. She moved out West where she continued studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder. There she pursued her love of all things western. The onset of WWII interrupted her idyllic world and she returned home to Wellesley, Massachusetts, where she met her future husband, our Dad, attorney James G. Fay. Mom graduated from BU, immediately joined the United States Navy and shipped off to Pensacola, Florida. After their service duties ended, Jim and Betty were married in Wellesley. They soon embarked on the most important project of their lives - the raising and nurturing of their seven children.
The family home of 64 years in Wellesley rang for decades with the sounds of children – endless family, friends, neighborhood buddies – playing relievo, football, capture the flag, badminton, and street hockey on the driveway. Overseeing all this activity was Mom, directing traffic, breaking up brawls and demanding everyone come home when the streetlights came on, always watching with those “eyes in the back of her head.” And she still had time to pursue the numerous passions in her life. Mom’s endless curiosity brought her to courses on interior design, decoupage, bridge and more. Her lifelong skills with the needle had her making her own clothes and those of her children. Daughters took delight as they stood, Mom kneeling next to them with pins in her mouth, quietly directing, “Turn…turn” as she pinned the hems on newly made skirts. Her home and her children’s are filled with the fruits of her elegant needlework – chairs, pillows, artwork and more.
Throughout her life, Mom took great joy in being outdoors. With the arrival of Spring each year, she would jump into action and begin her beloved gardening and yard work. Without fail, she wound move her plants around, enlisting oldest son Jim to help dig more gardens and move rocks so she could create spectacular displays in the backyard. As a child, all this work at Mom’s direction seemed like drudgery, but even we could appreciate the magnificent results as the gardens greened and the orange and apricot colored flowers sprang up.
When her youngest child went off to high school, Mom found another passion – golf. An athlete by nature, she took this up quickly with Dad’s urging, first joining the nine-hole group at Woodland Country Club and then rapidly developing a swing that earned her the moniker, “Betty the Bomber.” Amongst other tournaments she also won the 18 Hole Women’s Senior Championship of Massachusetts in 1975. Over the years Mom and Dad played endless rounds with friends and family.
Mom was the emotional touchstone of our family, lifelong mentor and role model and the world’s best listener. We will miss her forever.
Their love and mutual respect continued unabated through 47 years of marriage, as did their love of their family including Jim, wife Susan and sons Jim, Matthew, Jack and Mike; Barbara, husband Dale Edmunds, children Elizabeth, Margaret and Peter ; Nancy, husband Rodney Wilson; Brian, wife Colleen and daughter Madeleine; beloved namesake Elizabeth (Betsy); Andrew, wife Anne, children Hannah and Ryan; and Greg, wife Shannon and sons Sam and Ben.
Friends and family are warmly invited to visiting hours on Monday, June 3 from 4-7pm at the George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home, 477 Washington St.,(Rt.16) WELLESLEY. The Funeral Mass will be Tuesday, June 4 at 10am at St. Paul’s Church, 502 Washington St., Wellesley. Interment in Woodlawn Cemetery, Wellesley.
In lieu of donations, please take this opportunity to tell someone you love how much they mean to you.