Elizabeth Wallace

WALLACE - Elizabeth (Betsy) Badger lost her struggle with cancer surrounded by family on August 14. The daughter of Col. Thomas Badger III and Harriet Davis Badger, she was born February 22, 1941 in Henderson, North Carolina. After the Clark Street School and Henderson High School, she attended Queens College in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before her marriage to Robert Harrison Wallace in 1966, Betsy was an international hostess with Trans World Airlines serving routes between New York and Europe. In 1975, the family - with three children - moved from New York City to Connecticut. Betsy had a particular flair for people, which was expressed in her corporate event planning company E.B. Wallace Inc., as well as in her family and community involvements. As an event planner she coordinated major sponsorship and senior-executive functions at events such as the Olympics in Lake Placid and Seoul, the Monaco Grand Prix, and the Westchester Classic for clients including American Express, Citibank, Oppenheimer Funds and many others. When not planning events for clients she was involved as an active parent and volunteer at the New Canaan Country School and the Fairfield County Hunt Club, as well as the Near & Far Aid Association. A voracious reader, Betsy was also a dedicated crossword puzzler and spirited card player. Her passion for holidays and other family occasions was most notable in elaborate Christmas decorations and her remarkable skills as a gift wrapper. Her friendships were characterized by longevity and loyalty, and her devotion to family and long-standing family friends was total. Always elegant, gracious and positive, she embraced opportunities to make new friends. Her dogs were part of the family. Although she lived her entire adult life in the Northeast, Betsy remained - in culture, values and custom - a North Carolinian, returning often to her home state to visit family and coastal beaches. She was the product of several well-established North Carolina families that included George Edmund Badger, the 12th U.S. Secretary of the Navy and U.S. Senator representing North Carolina from 1846 to 1855, and Judge Thomas Pittman of the North Carolina Superior Court. She was a modern woman who believed in and adhered to her traditional upbringing. She is survived by her husband of 48 years; her son Everett (Rett) of New York City; her son Pittman (Pitt) of Laguna Hills, California; and her daughter Harriet, her husband, Josh, and their children, Marshall and Sofia, of Brooklyn, New York. Also surviving is her brother Thomas Badger IV of Henderson, North Carolina. Betsy will be laid to rest in Henderson, North Carolina. A memorial service will be held at 5 pm Wednesday, August 20 at Trinity Episcopal Church, 651 Pequot Avenue at Center Street, Southport, Connecticut. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Mesothelioma Research in care of Dr. Lee Krug at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 300 East 66th Street, 12th Floor, New York City 10065.