DOB/DOD: March 30, 1888 (Pueblo, CO) – September 4, 1926 (Saranac Lake, NY); 38 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married Dr. Edward Newman Packard [1883-1968] on November 29, 1919, in New York City.
CHILDREN: One son, Dr. John M. [1920-2013]. Two daughters, Mary B. Packard Reely [1925-2004] and Anne Packard Ladd [1922-2009].
LOCAL ADDRESS: 115 East Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut
FAMILY: Born to Dr./Colonel Edward Newman Packard Jr. [1853-1923] and Carrie Mallory Betts [1855-1936]. Two brothers, Thaddeus [1885-1960] and Randolph [1891-1969]. One sister, Sally M. Betts Merriman [1879-1966].
SERVICE DATES: Unknown service dates.
OTHER: In her husband Edward’s obituary in 1968, it was written that he was married to “Mary Bissell Betts, one of the earliest occupational therapists.” Edward served two years during WWI and in WWII from 1941 to 1946 when, as a Lieutenant Colonel and later Colonel, he was medical chief of Fort Dix and Halloran General Hospital’s 6,500 beds for which he received the Legion of Merit.
From The Norwalk Hour September 6, 1926
WIFE OF DOCTOR DIES AT SARANAC
Mrs. Mary Bissell Betts Packard, Formerly of Norwalk, Passes Away After Short Illness
Mrs. Mary Bissel Betts Packard, wife of Dr Edward N. Packard of Saranac Lake, New York, died Saturday night at Saranac Lake after a brief illness. Mrs. Packard was well known in Norwalk, having lived here for a number of years before her marriage to Dr. Packard. The many friends of Mrs. Packard will grieve to hear of her death. The funeral services will be held this afternoon at Saranac Lake. Mrs. Packard was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward C. Betts. She was born in Pueblo, Colorado, but the family moved to Norwalk when Mrs. Packard was a young girl. Mrs. Packard went to school in Norwalk and, following her school days, conducted a kindergarten school here with Mrs. Wilbur L. Neefus of 19 Belden Avenue, who was formerly Miss Eloise Byington. Mrs. Packard was married to Dr. Packard in 1919 in New York City. They have three children, John, Ann, and Mary. Mrs. Packard is survived by her husband, three children, her mother, who was at Saranac, one sister, Mrs. Hemingway Merriam of Watertown, Connecticut, and two brothers, Thaddeus Betts of Pueblo, Colorado, and Randolph Betts of Yonkers, New York. Dr. Packard is one of the leading specialists on lung trouble. He was the personal physician of the late Christy Mathewson, the famous pitcher of the New York Giants, who died last fall at Saranac Lake of tuberculosis.
AUTHOR NOTE: Christy Mathewson was one of the first five inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame, along with Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and Honus Wagner. He was the only one of the five to be inducted posthumously.
Mary Betts Packard is buried in Pine Ridge Cemetery, 1099-1233 Pine Street, Saranac Lake, New York; Section 1.
END
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