Obituary of Betsy Lou Brock

Betsy Lou Thompson Brock (85), born on July 11, 1931 in Jamestown, New York along with her best friend and twin sister, Nancy Conner, died peacefully in Oakton, Virginia on June 14, 2017, after suffering from advanced dementia.  Her three daughters, Barbara Brock, Patricia Edwards, and Elizabeth Lewis, were by her side while Nat King Cole lovingly sang to her.

Betsy was one of seven daughters raised on a farm in Bemus Point, New York where music and art were essential to their family life.  The family spent many hours singing around the piano and as a young adult, Betsy and her twin sang professionally in Western New York.  After she retired, Betsy began painting to express her artistic self. 

She graduated from Bemus Point High School in 1949 and obtained her R.N. in nursing from Allegheny Valley Hospital in Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania in 1953.  Betsy worked as a Labor & Delivery nurse at Arlington Hospital for many years and ended her nursing career working for the American Red Cross on the Blood Mobiles.

She met her husband Lawrence A. Brock (Larry) in Cleveland, Ohio at a singles club for tall people called the Skyscrapers Club.  They married in October, 1956 and their marriage lasted 52 years until his death in 2008.

Betsy was an active and proud Democrat, never shy about speaking up on important issues.  She was a yard sale fanatic, spending many Saturday mornings in search of a good deal.  When she retired from the Red Cross, she put her yard sale talents to work and volunteered at two charity thrift stores – The Treasure Trove in Annandale, Virginia and The Barn, in Bristow, Virginia.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Lawrence A. Brock, her parents, Earle and Irene Thompson, and two of her six sisters, Willa June Bishop and Mary Bondi.  She is survived by her daughters Barbara Brock, Patricia Edwards, and Elizabeth Lewis (Brian) and her two granddaughters, Emma Foley and Robin Hackett, as well as her sisters, Nancy Conner (Jesse), Vergenia Partington, Janice Gugino (Charles), Mildred Saxton and many nieces and nephews.

A Visitation with the family will take place on Sunday, June 25th, 2017 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Adams-Green Funeral Home, 721 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Betsy’s memory to “S.O.M.E (So Others Might Eat)”, 71 O Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001 www.some.org , a charity that was dear to both Betsy and Larry or, to the rescue group that kindly took in her much beloved dog, Sophia, giving her a great life when Betsy could no longer take care of her, “Eskies Rescuers United”, 8620 Allenswood Rd., Randallstown, Maryland 21133 www.eskierescuers.org