Obituary for Elizabeth "Betsy" Squibb
MADRID TWP - Elizabeth S. “Betsy” Squibb passed away on January 28, 2024, after a short battle with cancer. When she passed, she was surrounded by family.
Betsy lived in Madrid Township where she built a home with her husband Bud and raised their son Ben.
She was born in Boston on August 2, 1948, to Amy and Ed Squibb, and grew in the towns of Cambridge and Harvard in Massachusetts. She attended high school at Cambridge School of Weston in Massachusetts. Betsy graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in French. She went on to complete a Master of Arts degree in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College in 1975, and a Doctorate in Human Development from The Fielding Institute in 1980. Betsy also completed Post Doctoral Research at Yale University.
Betsy’s professional career was spent at the University of Maine at Farmington, where she was a professor of Early Childhood Education for many years. During that time, she researched and wrote articles and books in her field, both as the primary author and in collaboration with colleagues. Betsy was instrumental in starting the UMF Sweatt-Winter Childcare and Early Education Center and was actively engaged in its operations throughout her career. In response to tightened state regulations, Betsy helped develop a degree program that allowed early childhood practitioners access to a degree while they continued to work in childcare centers across the state. Later in her career, Betsy consulted with the George Soros Foundation, traveling throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia to meet with and train professionals in her field, including work in Mongolian orphanages. She also had the opportunity to teach in China for a year, where she lived with her family in a small apartment in Beijing.
Betsy had many interests and hobbies and was an active member of the community. She loved gardening, preserving food, and cooking. She became a licensed Maine Guide and collaborated with other guides leading hiking and paddling trips in northern and western Maine. Betsy was an avid hiker, paddler, biker, tennis player, and cross-country skier. She worked and volunteered at the Sugarloaf Outdoor Center for a number of years. She was fluent in French and studied abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris during her undergraduate years. Later she visited France with friends and family, and regularly went to Quebec for immersion programs and vacations.
Betsy volunteered for several organizations in Franklin County, including the High Peaks Alliance and Fly Rod Crosby Trail, the Phillips Public Library, the North Franklin Snowmobile Club, the Rangeley Friends of the Arts, the High Peaks Arts Council, and many others. Her commitment to these organizations and their work was based on a strong volunteer ethic and interest in helping her community.
Betsy was predeceased by her parents Ed and Amy, and survived by her husband Bud, son Ben and his partner Kate, sister Amy, and her two brothers Ed and John and their families, and her cousin Brooksie and her family.
Friends and family will gather for a celebration of Betsy’s life later this year near her home in Madrid Township.
Family and friends are encouraged to visit Betsy’s Book of Memories at www.wilesrc.com to share stories, reflections or words of sympathy. Honored to be caring for the family of Betsy Squibb is Wiles Remembrance Center of Farmington.
Betsy lived in Madrid Township where she built a home with her husband Bud and raised their son Ben.
She was born in Boston on August 2, 1948, to Amy and Ed Squibb, and grew in the towns of Cambridge and Harvard in Massachusetts. She attended high school at Cambridge School of Weston in Massachusetts. Betsy graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in French. She went on to complete a Master of Arts degree in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College in 1975, and a Doctorate in Human Development from The Fielding Institute in 1980. Betsy also completed Post Doctoral Research at Yale University.
Betsy’s professional career was spent at the University of Maine at Farmington, where she was a professor of Early Childhood Education for many years. During that time, she researched and wrote articles and books in her field, both as the primary author and in collaboration with colleagues. Betsy was instrumental in starting the UMF Sweatt-Winter Childcare and Early Education Center and was actively engaged in its operations throughout her career. In response to tightened state regulations, Betsy helped develop a degree program that allowed early childhood practitioners access to a degree while they continued to work in childcare centers across the state. Later in her career, Betsy consulted with the George Soros Foundation, traveling throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia to meet with and train professionals in her field, including work in Mongolian orphanages. She also had the opportunity to teach in China for a year, where she lived with her family in a small apartment in Beijing.
Betsy had many interests and hobbies and was an active member of the community. She loved gardening, preserving food, and cooking. She became a licensed Maine Guide and collaborated with other guides leading hiking and paddling trips in northern and western Maine. Betsy was an avid hiker, paddler, biker, tennis player, and cross-country skier. She worked and volunteered at the Sugarloaf Outdoor Center for a number of years. She was fluent in French and studied abroad at the Sorbonne in Paris during her undergraduate years. Later she visited France with friends and family, and regularly went to Quebec for immersion programs and vacations.
Betsy volunteered for several organizations in Franklin County, including the High Peaks Alliance and Fly Rod Crosby Trail, the Phillips Public Library, the North Franklin Snowmobile Club, the Rangeley Friends of the Arts, the High Peaks Arts Council, and many others. Her commitment to these organizations and their work was based on a strong volunteer ethic and interest in helping her community.
Betsy was predeceased by her parents Ed and Amy, and survived by her husband Bud, son Ben and his partner Kate, sister Amy, and her two brothers Ed and John and their families, and her cousin Brooksie and her family.
Friends and family will gather for a celebration of Betsy’s life later this year near her home in Madrid Township.
Family and friends are encouraged to visit Betsy’s Book of Memories at www.wilesrc.com to share stories, reflections or words of sympathy. Honored to be caring for the family of Betsy Squibb is Wiles Remembrance Center of Farmington.