Betty D. Berrington, a longtime Pacific Palisades resident and volunteer at St. Matthew’s Thrift Shop, passed away on November 17 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. She was 86. Betty was born in Victoria, British Columbia, on March 10, 1926 to Aileen and Kenneth Denniston. After graduating from St. Margaret’s School for Girls in 1944, she worked at Wilson’s Woolens Shop in Victoria and also in Lake Louise, Alberta. Betty met her husband, Peter, in 1948 and they were married on November 12, 1949. They lived in West Vancouver, where daughters Stephanie and Jennifer were born. In 1960, the family moved to Pacific Palisades and their son, Ian, was born in 1961. They lived for about five years in Montecito before returning to the Palisades in 1965. Betty was an active and vibrant person who had many activities and interests. She was an accomplished tennis and badminton player and enjoyed hiking in the mountains as well as gardening and cooking at home. She was also skilled at all types of needle arts, including knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, petit point, bargello, hand smocking, and sewing. Betty was active in her church, St. Matthew’s in the Palisades. Perhaps her most important ministry was the Thrift Shop, where she worked tirelessly for many years. She also was a member of the Assistance League of Southern California. A happy, social person, Betty loved celebrating occasions, especially those involving her children and grandchildren. She was a gourmet cook and loved to entertain in her home, becoming famous for her Christmas open house for which she prepared all the food herself. To her husband, Betty was courageous and determined and did not shrink from facing life’s adversities with a bright outlook and a problem-solving approach. She welcomed many friends of her family into her home and was always gracious and warm. Betty spent many summer vacations in the Eastern Sierras, staying in a cabin in Mammoth Lakes and hiking with her husband and many friends all over the local area. She would pack a lunch and set out on the trail, often not returning until the early evening after a full day of hiking and photography. She loved wildlife of all kinds and was able to name many of the flowers on the trail. Betty loved travel and made several trips to Africa to visit her son, Ian, and also traveled with friends and family to Great Britain, France and Spain, where shopping for antiques was one of her fondest hobbies. Betty’s beloved Labrador dogs were her constant companions. In 2009, Betty moved to University Village in Thousand Oaks, where she soon joined the needlework group at University Village and knitted a number of items for charity before her illness prevented her from continuing. While there, she easily made new friends and became beloved by the staff as well. A beloved wife, mother and grandmother, Betty leaves her husband Peter; daughter Stephanie McNutt (husband Tom) of Pacific Palisades; daughter Jennifer Coe (husband Jack) of Pacific Palisades; son Ian (wife Celisinha) of Olympia, Washington; and eight grandchildren, Katie and Annie McNutt, Jake and Jocelyn Coe and Wendy, Savannah, Logan and Dugan Berrington. She also leaves niece Sarah Staley of Calgary, Alberta and nephew Brian King of Victoria, British Columbia. Services were held on November 23 at St. Matthew’s. The family requests that memorial donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association restricted to research, at 4221 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 400, Los Angeles, CA 90010 or by calling Jennifer Holloway at (323) 930-6246.
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
