Elizabeth Webb Cheney

RUMNEY---Elizabeth Webb Cheney, 71, of Rumney died peacefully on November 3 at the Jack Byrne Center for Palliative & Hospice Care at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon. Born in Needham, MA, she was the daughter of Kenneth and Lois Webb. She graduated from Needham High School and then earned an associate's degree from Lasell College in Newton, MA in 1967. She worked for the Harvard School of Public Health before moving to Bridgewater, NH with her husband, David D. Cheney, in the early 1970s. It was then that she began work at Plymouth State College (later University), where she would remain for more than 40 years, retiring in 2006. Unable to stay completely away from her beloved Plymouth State, she returned to work part-time in the Office of Public Relations until 2015. At Plymouth State, Betsy held numerous positions, and was particularly proud of working in the Development Office to help raise funds to build the Silver Center for the Arts. The job she most enjoyed, though, was writing for News Services, later the Office of Public Relations. It was one of her earliest jobs at Plymouth, and then the one that filled more than a decade at the end of her career. As the daughter of a newspaperman, she took great pride and pleasure in telling stories about Plymouth State students, staff, faculty, and alumni. It was at Plymouth, too, that she earned a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies in 1989 and an M.Ed. in 1999. In recognition of her work as a staff member, she received the Distinguished Professional, Administrative, & Technical Staff award; as an alumna, she received the Alumni Achievement Award from the Plymouth State Alumni Association. Always community-minded, Betsy volunteered with various local and state organizations. She became particularly involved with the Plymouth Friends of the Arts during her son Matthew's childhood, and later volunteered with Pease Public Library's Young Ladies Library Association, served as a Granite State Ambassador, and was a member of the board of directors for Voices Against Violence. Additionally, she was an active member of the Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ. When not working or volunteering, Betsy enjoyed traveling, attending performances, reading, cooking, gardening, and cheering on the Red Sox. It was her family, though, that brought her the most pleasure: her father and step-mother, her in-laws, her brothers, sisters, cousins, nieces, and nephews - and most of all, her son Matthew and her partner of 22 years, Ann Thurston. Being able to marry Ann in January 2008 was one of the great joys of her life. Betsy was predeceased by her parents and her sister Meredith Webb. She is survived by her wife, Ann Thurston of Rumney, and her son, Matthew Cheney of Bridgewater; her step-mother Ruth Webb of Nashua; her brother Alan Webb of Longmont, CO; sisters and brothers-in-law Melanie & John Hyslop of Ashburnham, MA and Betty Ann Sengstaken & Herb Fuller of Hope Mills, NC; brothers and sisters-in-law Robert & Teresa Sengstaken of Hollis and Jack & Terry Webb of Derry; and many nieces and nephews and their families, for whom she felt motherly pride and joy. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations to the Thurston-Cheney Fund for the Performing Arts at Plymouth State University, which can be sent to Advancement Services, MSC 50, 17 High St., Plymouth, NH 03264-1595 or given online via www.plymouth.edu/giving .

Tributes

Elizabeth Webb Cheney

December 7, 1946 - November 3, 2018