Betsy Palmer Burgett passed away peacefully September 4, 2026 at Rogue Valley Manor during a final visit with her two sons. She was born Betsy Anne Palmer on April 20, 1937 to parents H. Bruce Palmer and Dorothy Beck Palmer in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Bruce and Dorothy raised Betsy and her older sister Barbie in Ann Arbor, Detroit and Flint, Michigan; Indianapolis, Indiana; and New Jersey, where they lived in Essex Fells and Madison.

Betsy had a joyful childhood in both Michigan and New Jersey. She learned to play piano and tap dance. She played store in the living room by selling her father’s clothes back to him when he returned from work. She enjoyed Sunday afternoon car rides, vacationing on her aunt’s farm, and corn roasts on the beaches of Lake Michigan. She listened to war reports on the radio in darkened rooms and celebrated with a neighborhood parade when the war ended. She became a Yankee fan, rooting especially for Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra. She went to summer camps in Maine, and took a 12,000 mile road trip through the western United States with her family. She saw Broadway Shows and joined her high school drama club, playing Katrina in “I Remember Mama.” She also enjoyed field hockey and glee club and served as newspaper and yearbook business manager.

After graduating from Kent Place School in Summit, NJ, she returned to Ann Arbor to attend the University of Michigan, preceded by 14 other relatives including her parents. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science, with a Fine Arts minor, became an avid Michigan football fan, and pledged the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, which provided long-term friendships and which she supported throughout her life.

After her junior year, she went on a women’s student summer tour of Europe. On the first stop in London, she met an assistant guide on the tour named David Burgett. They fell for each other quickly, and Betsy said that ten weeks later at the end of the tour she knew David was the one. They were married the following year on June 27, 1959, and lived in San Marino, California. Betsy worked for Henry Dreyfus, a world renowned industrial designer, then for the Admissions Chairman at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, while David began a 35-year accounting career.

After two years, Betsy resigned the position at USC and turned to her life work of raising a family and helping to advance various nonprofit and charitable organizations, which initially included the Junior League, the Huntington Art Gallery, the San Gabriel Mission, and the L.A. Philharmonic. On July 14, 1963, she and David welcomed their first son, Bruce, followed by Don three years later on June 15, 1966. She and David raised “the boys” in San Marino, Short Hills (NJ), Hillsborough (CA), Pittsburgh (PA), and Palos Verdes Estates (CA) as David’s work required regular moves. Betsy enjoyed playing tennis and golf and loved to garden. She was an adventurous chef who lovingly made notes in her many cookbooks about which family members liked (or didn’t) each recipe. Family vacations included trips to dude ranches in Colorado and Wyoming, to Lake Powell for houseboating, to the Rogue River for white-water rafting, to Hawaii, and to a wide range of national parks, especially those with caves, which Betsy loved.

While living in Pittsburgh, Betsy became increasingly involved in the Presbyterian Church, taking part in bible study and prayer groups, and eventually becoming a deacon and elder. Her turn toward deeper faith would be a core theme of the rest of her life. In 1982, the family moved back to Los Angeles (Palos Verdes), where Betsy re-engaged with her Junior League work and took on leadership roles with the Orthopedic Hospital auxiliary Las Madrecitas and St. Peter’s by the Sea Presbyterian Church. She and David continued to travel: Europe, Australia, Scotland, Ireland, Fiji, Tahiti, Tanzania, Kenya, and Zaire. Her favorite trip was the three-and-a-half week tour of Africa with David and Don in 1989.

Anticipating retirement, she and David bought 16 acres of land in Santa Ynez, California, where they planned to move after designing and building a house. On March 7, 1993, David suffered a major stroke while traveling on business in New Jersey. He recovered and enjoyed life thereafter while also experiencing significant physical challenges until his death in 2016. Despite this setback, Betsy and David continued to travel and decided to go ahead with the construction of the house in Santa Ynez, where they lived for 11 happy years. During that time, Betsy became involved in the work of PEO and of the Santa Ynez Valley Presbyterian Church, where she was a Missions Elder, supporting missionaries and keeping in contact with them.

In 2008 Betsy and David moved to their “second retirement” at Rogue Valley Manor in Medford, Oregon, where she made many new friends and remained characteristically busy and engaged, helping with the annual “Big Sale,” serving on the Landscape Committee, and briefly reigning as the Manor Putting Competition Champion. In addition to being an active member of Trail Christian Fellowship and Community Bible Study, Betsy supported and enjoyed the Rogue Valley Symphony and advocated for and supported local organizations helping women and girls in challenging situations to thrive. She also cherished her PEO sisters in Medford.

Betsy is survived by her son Bruce Burgett and his partner Miriam Bartha of Sayulita, Mexico, and son Don Burgett and his wife Arlene Kozimbo of Santa Cruz, California, and by niece Linda Blaisdell and her husband Matthew Blaisdell and nephew David White and his wife Susan White, both of Greenville, South Carolina, and nephew Palmer White and his wife Beth White of Atlanta, Georgia.

Betsy joins David at Eagle Point National Cemetery and with their Lord for eternity. A celebration of Betsy’s life will be held from 1:00pm to 3:00pm on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at the Deschutes Room of the Rogue Valley Manor. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Betsy’s name to Youth 71Five Ministries (529 Edwards St., Medford, OR 97501) or the Rogue Valley Symphony (33 N 1st Street Suite 1, Ashland, OR 97520).