Mary Elizabeth “Betsy” Berry is a mother, a grandmother, a world traveler… and a proud Cradle baby, Class of 1939.
“I always knew I was adopted,” Betsy says. “But sometimes I would tease my mom that she made it up since we have some physical characteristics in common. My mom and I both grew two inches when we turned 21, we both are missing two wisdom teeth, and I definitely have the family nose.”
Betsy recalls visiting The Cradle as a young child and being surprised to see a baby photo of herself on the wall. She also remembers always being comfortable as an adopted child, and that there were several other adoptive families in her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio. She and her younger brother, also a Cradle baby, grew up knowing their adoption stories.
Betsy still lives in Cincinnati today and has been a generous Cradle donor for many years. “I started making memorial gifts to The Cradle when someone died, because I thought it was a nice way to honor someone’s memory by contributing to the start of a new life,” Betsy says. Several years ago she became a Nursery Angel, sponsoring The Cradle Nursery on her birthday.
“The gift is ‘in honor of all of my parents,’” she explains. “I never really thought much about my birth mother except on my birthday – my mom was my mom and my dad was my dad. But I appreciate the choice she made for me, because I had a wonderful life. None of my parents are alive now, so I thought it was a good time to do the gift so no one could be offended.”
In addition to Betsy’s continuing support of the Nursery, this year she was also lead sponsor of The Cradle Open House on May 15. We are very grateful for her generosity.
Betsy has two children, a son in Colorado and a daughter in Texas, and six grandchildren. “I am a traveling Nana,” she says. “I don’t know what I would do without the modern technology of Facetime that allows me to stay in touch.” Besides spending time with her family, Betsy loves to explore the world. Last year, she and a childhood friend took a trip to Tahiti and had a marvelous time.
Looking back, Betsy enjoys the thought of some of her famous Cradle cousins. “I was born in 1939, the same year as one of Bob Hope’s kids,” Betsy said. “My dad used to tell a story about meeting Bob Hope in California, and they compared pictures of their Cradle babies. I feel proud to be a Cradle baby.”
An instruction card given to Betsy’s parents by The Cradle Nursery on the day she was brought home:
