Elizabeth C. (Betsy) Whitman of Lexington,
died June 27th at her home in Lexington at age 87. She was born in 1926 in
Newton, Massachusetts, to Alice Llewellyn Cushman and Townsend Hamilton
Cushman. She graduated from Newton High School in 1944 and received her BFA in
Interior Design from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1949. After
graduating from RISD, Whitman served as Interior Designer for The Architects
Collaborative and later for Design Research in its early years.
After having children, Whitman launched a
passionate career as an activist and volunteer both in Lexington and on her
beloved Chebeague Island where she spent summers
beginning in 1965. Her many civic contributions, spanning 5 decades, included
volunteer work in the Lexington public school libraries, the League of Women
Voters, the Design Advisory Committee, the Lexington Field and Garden Club, and
the MIT Furniture Exchange. She was also instrumental in the establishment of
the Minuteman Bikeway. Her contributions to the Chebeague
community included volunteer work with the Chebeague
& Cumberland Land Trust, the Chebeague Historical
Society, and the Chebeague Island Library.
She is survived by her
daughter Jill Whitman Marsee, son-in-law Donald Marsee, and grandsons Robert
and David Marsee of Washington and her daughter Gwen Whitman Kaebnick, son-in-law Gregory Kaebnick,
and granddaughters Rebecca and Hannah Kaebnick of New
York.
She was preceded in death by her loving husband of 57 years,
Robert Whitman and her daughter Martha Whitman.
A memorial service and reception will be held at
2:00 p.m. on September 15th at Brookhaven in Lexington. In lieu of flowers,
donations may be made in her memory to Citizens for Lexington Conservation, PO
Box 292, Lexington, MA 02420-0003 or to the Cheabeague
& Cumberland Land Trust, www.ccltmaine.org.