Elizabeth Staples Halbrooks passed away peacefully after a brief illness on July 28, 2006 at the Faulkner Hospital in Jamaica Plain, MA. She was surrounded by family members and supported by the caring staff of the Faulkner’s Intensive Care Unit. Betsey was born on January 13, 1918 in Southborough, MA to Elizabeth Flanders Staples and Frederick Clifton Staples. She was predeceased by her first husband Arthur Trenchard Dyer, Jr., who died in 1960, and her brother, Frederick Clifton Staples, Jr. Her late husband William Richard Halbrooks died on December 14, 2003. Betsey and Bill were married in September of 1968, and resided in Wellesley Hills, MA. In 1997 they moved to North Hill in Needham, MA.
She is survived by her children, Deborah Yerkes Dyer, Elizabeth Dyer Alcauskas, and David Stevens Dyer and her step-children, John Richard Halbrooks, Margaret Deckard, Nancy Weymouth Halbrooks, and Mary Carter Halbrooks. Her children’s significant partners are Kathy McKool, John’s wife, James Alcauskas, Ron Decker, Bronwen Kaldro, David’s partner, and Jan Zorman, Nancy’s partner. Betsey was predeceased by David’s wife Carol Bailey Dyer.
Betsey is also survived by nine grandchildren with whom she was lovingly known as Gram. Betsey was a wonderful grandparent, who expressed her love to her grandchildren with her regular correspondence, generosity and unfailing interest in their lives.
Betsey graduated from Wellesley College in 1940 and earned a Masters degree in Education from Tufts University in 1962. She held a love of Wellesley College and maintained friendships with several classmates, including Mary Ellen Ames and Nancy Bell.
Betsey served as the Business Manager for The Hornbook Magazine “About children’s books and reading” from 1963 until her retirement in 1983. During her tenure with the magazine she was elected to the board of directors as vice president. Betsey also became a principal shareholder of The Horn Book Incorporated Publishers.
Her proudest achievement during her years with The Horn Book was her creation and the writing/editing of The Crier, a popular bi-monthly newsletter that was published to provide to subscribers with news and discussion related to children’s literature and the industry. At the time of her retirement The Crier had been published for over 20 years. Betsey loved to write and The Crier provided an outlet for her.
Betsey wrote “light verse” which reflected her whimsical observations of the life around her and her own foibles. Her Poetry was published in The Boston Herald and in various other publications over the past 66 years.
In her later years she served as the editor of her Wellesley College class of 1940 newsletter Forward Oh Forty, and was on the editorial board of North Hill’s newsletter The Hilltop. Betsey was on the library committees at the Wellesley Unitarian Society and at North Hill.
With her involvement in The Horn Book, Betsey became an avid reader of and advocate for children’s literature and the pleasure of reading aloud to children. She passed this love of reading on to her children and grandchildren. Betsey and Bill could be seen on their daily commuter train ride into Boston sitting side by side with Bill burrowed into The Wall Street Journal and Betsey happily reading the latest offering in children’s literature.
Another love of Betsey’s, which she pursued over her lifetime, was choral singing. For many years she was a choir member of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Wellesley Hills and sang with the chorus at North Hill.
Betsey will be remembered and missed for her fine sense of humor, her graciousness and style, tenacity, as well as her love and loyalty to her friends and family. In the final hours of her life Betsey showed us her courage and of course her sense of humor and graciousness.
Betsey’s life will be celebrated by her family at a private memorial service on August 20. In lieu of flowers, sympathy can be expressed through a donation made in memory of Betsey “Stape” Halbrooks to the Wellesley College Class of 1940, Office of Development services, Wellesley College, 106 Central Street, Wellesley MA 02481.