Elizabeth Haring, formerly Florence Elizabeth Sowell and fondly known as “Betty” and “Bettina” Haring, left this world in the early morning of June 30, 2024, surrounded by her loving family and friends. Her spirit lives on in the hearts of her husband, John Haring of Pawleys Island, SC, daughter Haydn Haring of Charlottesville, VA, and her two sisters, Nancy Williams of Greenville, SC, and Dara Sowell of New York, New York. Betty was born February 7, 1948, to James and Mary-Annie Sowell and grew up in Montgomery, Alabama. Betty was a cheerleader and high school “Favorite.” She graduated from Auburn University with a degree in English and earned her MBA at Georgia Tech.
After moving to Washington DC, Betty worked for the American Petroleum Institute as a financial analyst. She married John Haring on June 23, 1984, at their home in Great Falls, VA. After the birth of her daughter, she worked as a docent at Dumbarton Oaks Museum and Gardens. After relocating to the Lowcountry in 2008, she worked as Assistant to the Director of the Rice Museum in Georgetown. Betty lent her talents to other local cultural institutions, performing onstage at Georgetown’s Strand Theatre and serving as a member of the Selection Committee for the Strand Cinema Film Society. Each of these places was deeply important to her, as were the people with whom she shared her time.
An avid and enthusiastic gardener, Betty cultivated beautiful outdoor spaces at her homes in both Great Falls and Pawleys Island. An exquisitely talented seamstress, she created beautiful ballet, theatre, and Halloween costumes for community theaters, schools, and, most often, her beloved daughter. She enjoyed and excelled at calligraphy, collected and pressed various plants and flowers, and loved taking photographs, particularly of the natural forms found in our Lowcountry forests and beaches.
You could often find Betty strolling through Brookgreen Gardens, recording the night frogs and birds on Pawleys Island Creek, or exploring the beach with her sweet dogs, Lady and Daisy, who (we are sure) are absolutely thrilled to be reunited with her.
There will be a celebration of Betty’s life at the Rice Museum in Georgetown, SC, on July 14, 2024, from 12 to 4 p.m. We are happy to celebrate Betty through memorial contributions to either the Rice Museum or Brookgreen Gardens, where we will honor her with a lasting memorial on the grounds. We hope you will remember Betty by taking time to appreciate the abundant beauty in the world around us and doing something in your power to protect it.
The Rice Museum
843-546-7423
633 Front Street
Georgetown, SC
29440
Brookgreen Gardens
Enter your gift in the name of Betty Haring
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