Good morning…
“Sue, my mom passed away at 2:36 today peacefully and quickly,” our dear friend Corinne Adams texted me at 11:08 pm on Saturday, June 8th. “It was time to rest. I can’t wait to tell you about all the angels who showed up spontaneously…former caregivers, who were like family…they felt a call to come, not knowing…it was tearful and beautiful. We sent her off in pale pink like a new baby in God with a little lamb pin I made for her long ago on her sleeve, her favorite perfume in the air. Thank you for shepherding me through these long and challenging weeks. God is good. Xxxx.”
We texted back and forth to find the perfect time for me to hear all the “angel stories” surrounding this birth into heaven. Yesterday at 9:00 am, Corinne walked into our messy home, a home joyfully filled with so many of Corinne’s photos and paintings, jewelry and scarves, gathered with glee over the years. We poured ice waters, cozied onto the same couch, and sorted through the colorful contents of her heart, remembering aloud the magnificent, multi-faceted qualities of this mom who will be so missed.
“I knew I needed to write her obituary,” Corinne said, “so on one special day I felt drawn to stay home from the gym. God and I spent the morning together and words fell effortlessly onto the page.” These are some of the highlights I admire best from the life of Elizabeth Willams McDonald Anderson.
- Elizabeth, known as Betsy, was a homemaker, volunteer, storyteller, teacher, artist, psychologist, farm manager, interior designer, lifelong faithful Christian and a flagbearer of color, curiosity and creativity.
- Born on July 29, 1928, Betsy’s early years were marked by fierce frivolity and grand adventure with her four siblings in Chattanooga and at their centuries-old family home, McDonald Farm in Sale Creek, Tenn. Music, drama, art and laughter anchored daily life as Betsy and family made art, founded the family newspaper business and documented their vibrant lives in skits, stories, songs, poems, photos and newspapers.
- Betsy met the love of her life Lee Stratton Anderson on a blind date, and they were only two days short of their 69thwedding anniversary at her death. As he became editor and publisher of the Chattanooga News-Free Press, the newspaper founded by her father Roy McDonald, Betsy’s journalistic bent blossomed. She met with U.S. presidents in the White House, traveled the world (Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and then some ….) and wrote of her adventures in the daily paper.
- Always curious and never boring, Betsy moved through life with speed and passion, flying in hot air balloons across Europe, riding camels up Mount Sinai, commandeering dune buggies in the Arab Emirates, navigating the Nile and bargaining for rugs in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. She painted thousands of miniature soldiers for Confederama, the diorama of local civil war battles which she and Lee created together. She was a gifted pianist, favoring classical pieces, ragtime and hymn medleys. Never one to say no, Betsy learned to play the bagpipes in her 60s, underscoring her strong Scottish heritage as she donned full regalia and performed for Chattanooga and Atlanta audiences.
- Her Christian ethic and strength were legendary as she led Bible studies, oversaw Women of the (First Presbyterian) Church and supported a vast number of Christian missions. A special passion was the Chambliss Center for Children where she was chief Easter bunny and board chair for many years. Her church ministry and Bible study continued at Lenbrook Square in Atlanta where she greeted worshippers each Sunday. She compiled her “rules” for healthy, happy living in a document she called “Betsy’s Bullets” and often reminded family that “expectations are subtle demands” and “I don’t have to go to every fight I’m invited to.”
- Betsy survived family dramas, a charging African wild rhino, a home invasion, multiple joint replacements, a stroke and eventually a brain tumor which spawned a final bright flourish of storytelling and drama. And she will long be remembered for her spunk, honesty, colorful clothing, statement necklaces, love of “inanimate animals,” homemade pistachio ice cream and a signature elbow dance performed on every family trip and wedding dance floor.
Right now as I write this blog post, Corinne and her family are driving to Chattanooga to memorize her marvelous mom at 2:00 pm at the First Presbyterian Church. I smile with deep recognition, Corinne’s creative apple does not fall far from her mother’s flamboyant tree. One fun, well-lived life has dropped seeds into the next generation, a crazily creative generation now dropping seeds into the next and the next. So on and so on goes God’s palpable presence in soulful, seed-bearing people, forever and forever. Amen.
Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life (Galatians 6:4-5, MSG).
…Sue…
