Betsy was born, and, except for a stint in Kansas City, raised in Hopkins, Minnesota – a suburb of Minneapolis. Betsy was the family’s fourth child and only daughter. As her mother told it, Betsy wanted to do what the boys were doing, so she was a bit of a tomboy. Her mother told of going into Betsy’s room and asking where her dolls were. Her mother found them on the floor of Betsy’s closet and without clothing on any of them.
After high school, Betsy attended St. Olaf College for two years and transferred to, and graduated from, the business school of the University of Minnesota.
After several years working in the business world, Betsy announced she was ready for a career change and would like to pursue her interest in painting. Chips had a carriage house behind his home in Dallas where his housekeeper had been living. The housekeeper decided to move so, when Betsy moved to Dallas, the carriage house was converted into Betsy’s studio. Initially, Betsy worked in pen and ink. She transitioned to primarily painting in oil. After several years, she settled into working with watercolors.
Returning from a weekend camping trip, Betsy spotted a dog in the highway median. She had Chips stop, she went into the median, scooped up the stray, put him in the vehicle and that was the beginning. From that day on, Betsy never turned a blind eye to a dog or cat that gave any appearance that it was fending for itself.
Betsy was a bit of a ‘motor head’. She drove a pickup truck for 24 years. One day driving along Chips asked if a car up ahead was a Tesla. Betsy responded that it was a Maserati. Who knows that?
