Elizabeth (Bettie) Roby, a Signature Member of the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society, passed away peacefully on Saturday, August 16th, surrounded by her loving family at Gettysburg Hospital. She was 82. She is survived by her husband Charlie, her daughter Mary Angela, her son Bill and his wife Lynn, of Fairfield, and her daughter Marcia and her husband Todd Gipstein of Groton, CT. Bettie was a delightful and caring spirit who embraced life to its fullest.

She met and married Charlie Roby in 1953. She always said she thought he was so handsome. She devoted her life to her husband and raising her three kids, putting her love of art on hold while they were young. Bettie was a sweet, lively, classy lady without a bit of malice in her, a person who everybody liked. With her children grown, Bettie just wanted to paint. And paint she did. A graduate of the Schuler School of Fine Arts in Baltimore, she was happiest when she was creating beautiful art.

She taught her own art classes in her barn studio in Fairfield to the delight of her students. They all loved her, and the group treasured their time together painting or taking field trips. A very skilled artist, Bettie favored watercolors, though she also did oils and some sculptures. The subjects of her work were diverse, including still lifes, portraits and landscapes. She traveled, gardened, painted, and always approached life with the curiosity, wonder, and insight of an artist, whether or not she had a brush in her hand. For all the beauty and evocativeness of her lyrical paintings, Bettie's real masterpiece was her family and the love and compassion she showed for them and all her friends.

Bettie's was a life well lived by a woman much loved. She will be missed by many, but her spirit and love will live on in her art and in the hearts of those who called her family and friend. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in her memory to the newly created Elizabeth Ferciot Roby Memorial Art Scholarship at the Adams County Community Foundation (www.AdamsCountyCF.org).

This scholarship will continue her love of art and teaching by helping a student pursue their dream of becoming an artist. The family also asks that in her memory, you look at the world around you and see its beauty, just as Bettie did.