Mrs. Betty Cripps, wife of Thomas Cripps, of Bridge St., Bathurst, passed away on Thursday, March 24, 2011, at the Georges Dumont Hospital in Moncton.  She was the daughter of the late William A. Pinet and Edith Branch.

Besides her husband, Betty is survived by her daughters Lynda (Michael Duguay) and Susan (Robert ‘Buck" Hebert) both of Bathurst; granddaughter Melissa Duguay (J. P. Goulard), and two great grandchildren, Chase and Cali Elizabeth.  She is also survived by her sisters Ethel Ferguson (late Ken), Kathleen Doiron (late Antonio), and Patsy Savoie (Clarence); and by sisters-in-law Margaret Rioux (late Paul), Teresa Murray (late Arthur "Bud"), Mary McBreen (Jim), Eleanor Cripps, and by brother-in-laws William "Billy" Cripps and Antoine Gosselin and sister-in-laws Mildred Pinet (Billy) and Anne-Marie Pinet (Dennis).  She is also survived by many nieces and nephews.  Besides her parents, she was predeceased by an infant sister Mary, brothers Raymond, Billy, and Dennis, sisters Edith, Winnie, and Jean.

Betty graduated from the Hotel Dieu Bathurst School of Nursing and started her career there.  She later moved on to Public Health and retired from that department in August, 1996 – she never retired from nursing.  During her career she was active in the New Brunswick Nurses’ Union and with many local community service clubs and charities.  Special among these was the Catholic Womens’ League (CWL).  She received the Rotary Club’s Paul Harris award and the Govenor General’s Caring Canadian Award.

Family will receive friends and visitors after 2 p.m. at Elhatton’s Funeral Home (www.elhatton.com), Bathurst, on Sunday, March 27, 2011.  Funeral service will be held on Monday, March 28 at 2 o’clock from the Sacred Heart Cathedral on St. Andrew Street in Bathurst.  Visiting hours are Sunday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9.

Donations in memory of Betty can be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Canadian Cancer Society, Chaleur Regional Hospital Foundation or the Auberge Henri Cormier in Moncton.