Betty Lou Webb

Betty Lou Stanberry Murchie Webb

August 13, 1925-January 26, 2024

Betty's earthly journey ended January 26, 2024, at Croasdaile Village in Durham, North Carolina. She was born in Winona, Minnesota, on August 13, 1925, the daughter of Roscoe and Gladys Stanberry. Most of her early years were spent in the beautiful city of Minneapolis. Though her childhood was during the Great Depression, she found much to enjoy in the neighborhood, schools, parks, lakes, libraries, and friends. She especially enjoyed ice skating, free youth symphonies by renowned conductors, Saturday matinees by the Metropolitan Opera heard on a crystal radio, the Minneapolis Millers baseball games when admission was Wheaties box tops, and of course the movies.

The winds of WWII took most of the young men away to serve after high school graduation. With no predetermined plan, Betty chose Macalester College in St. Paul for its good liberal arts reputation and degree requirements in many disciplines. She was especially drawn to biology, and received a B.S. degree in June of 1947.

One week after graduating, Betty married William Roger Murchie of Sharon, Pennsylvania. They had met the summer before at the University of Michigan Biological Station near Cheboygan, Michigan. Betty was there to study field biology, and Bill—an Air Force veteran and instructor of biology at Marietta College in Ohio—was working on a Master's degree. The newlyweds settled in Marietta, where the small biology department was struggling to absorb the influx of veterans returning to college. Betty's past experience as a laboratory assistant led to her part-time job as a lab instructor for three semesters before the birth of their first child.

In 1950 the family moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Bill pursued a Ph.D. and Betty raised a family while also studying for a Master's degree in zoology; both received their degrees from the University of Michigan in 1954. For the next two years, they lived in Greenville, Pennsylvania, Betty as a homemaker and Bill as chairman of the biology department at Thiel College.

In 1956 the University of Michigan opened a branch in Flint, Michigan. Following the advice of a member of the planning committee, Bill had applied for the biology opening at the new two-year school, and so became one of the original staff and faculty of about 15 to begin Flint Senior College of the University of Michigan. The next 12 years were growing experiences for the college (which became a four-year institution during that time), and for the family. Betty had a chance to use her college Spanish during the three months in 1962 when she and their three children traveled with Bill in Mexico for his sabbatical.

Bill died suddenly in 1968 and Betty faced the challenge of going on alone. Knowing of her recent experience as a library volunteer, some faculty friends who were on the Board of the Genesee County Library encouraged her to apply for a paid position. After working part-time at various libraries in the county system she was put in charge of the Burton Memorial Library in Burton, Michigan, where she remained until her retirement in 1987. The library's location on the corner of two main roads brought readers from a wide area of the Flint suburbs. While working at Burton, Betty earned a Master of Library Science degree in 1974 (attending night classes in Flint). It was her great pleasure for almost 19 years to serve the people who came to the library.

In 1985 Betty married Rudolph Noel Webb, a retired skilled tradesman for General Motors and a widower whose family had become her neighbors and friends when she worked at the Burton Library. Betty and Rudy made their home in Grand Blanc, Michigan, and for about 20 retirement years traveled extensively throughout 48 states and most of southern Canada. Besides visits to scattered families, points of interest were national parks, historical museums, zoos, and botanical gardens. Rudy lost a two-year battle with cancer in 2008.

The last stage of Betty's journey was to Croasdaile Village, Durham, North Carolina. There she could be close to some family, live independently with security, help, and a Life Enrichment program, realizing that more personal help and nursing care were available if needed without leaving the Village and new friends.

Betty was preceded in death by her brothers: Robert L. Stanberry, Sr. (94) of Poway, California; and John A. Stanberry (96) of Laton, California. She is survived by her children: Miriam Murchie Mullikin (Kent) of Chapel Hill, North Carolina; William R. Murchie, Jr. (Kathryn) of Valdosta, Georgia; and Carol Ann Murchie of Newport, Rhode Island. She also leaves three grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

Interment will take place in the spring, at Oakwood Cemetery in Sharon, Pennsylvania. Memorial gifts may be sent to: Friends of the Burton Memorial Library, 1495 Alberta Avenue, Burton, MI 48509.