Elizabeth “Betty” Worthen

PORTLAND – Elizabeth “Betty” Worthen, July 17, 1932 – Aug. 22, 2024, aged 92 years; daughter of John Harold and Harriet Worthen; of St. John Street, Portland.

Betty grew up in South Portland, lived with her brother on Munjoy Hill for many years and then many more years by herself on St. John Street. She was a regular on the Portland City bus system and prided herself on knowing her drivers and the intricacies of their routes. She was the “woman behind the counter” for 30 years at the Boy Scout office in Northgate Plaza where she answered phones and tended to customers. Betty was an excellent typist. She had old, hard, frugal New England beliefs and well into her 80’s would remember the very few days she called in because of the weather. It still galled her, even then.

Like many people that came of age after the war, Betty smoked furiously most of her life and died with COPD. Her sight was not what it had been nor her hearing, but she was completely together mentally and like most Mainers remained alert for scams in the mail, over the phone, or found in the Portland Press Herald, which she read daily unless it didn’t come. Many thanks to the man at the Press Herald who took Betty’s calls. Thank you for getting her paper to her on time, too.

Betty had unusual standards. Some were antique, 19th century, harsh on Betty herself and hard to understand today, but she was guided by those values and she moved forward regardless of the challenge. She shouldered a lot of family responsibility.

Betty often turned out to be right, or put off being wrong until it didn’t matter anymore. She was a strong person.

Betty was unmarried and was preceded in death by her brother John Worthen Jr., her sister Blanche (Worthen) Spearin, and Blanche’s husband Hazen Spearin. She is survived by her nephew Mark Spearin and his partner Rebecca Madrid. Betty’s close friends, Jim Pritchard and Jeff Kennedy took Betty as part of their own families and were never out of her thoughts.

Betty will be interred in South Portland. There will be only a small memorial service graveside at Forest City to be scheduled later. The staff at the Barron Center was immensely helpful and caring and Betty was grateful to spend her last weeks with a staff who quickly became her friends.

Arrangements are under the care and direction of Jones, Rich and Barnes Funeral Home, Portland.

Betty loved a sunny room with flowers in a vase. She said it felt like home. In lieu of flowers for Betty, then, buy flowers for your family and take them home to your sunny room. Betty would have liked that. She always said it was a shame to let all those flowers go to waste.