Elizabeth Armington

ELIZABETH STECK ARMINGTON, age 99.Elizabeth Steck Armington died July 2 at her home in Waite Hill. She was an extraordinary community volunteer who was active until the end of her tenth decade of life. She recently received an award for her long fund raising career, The Smith College Award for Distinguished Service. Margaret Elizabeth Lloyd, always called Betty, was born to Ross Harris Lloyd and Margaret Tinsley on August 14, 1910 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Beloved wife of the late William F. Steck and the late Raymond Q. Armington, she is survived by William Lloyd Steck Julie, Margaret Carpenter Frank, Suzanne Foster Byron, and Peter Charles Steck Bridget. She was grandmother to 10 Kristen Steck of San Francisco, Julie Shriber of Seattle, William Steck of Wellesley MA, Dr. Elizabeth Applebaum of Cleveland Heights, Frank Carpenter Jr. of Fort Collins CO, Laurel Mieritz of Milwaukee, Elizabeth Foster of Raleigh NC, Megan Berg of Bozeman MT, Heather vonSeggern of Bradenton FL, and Elizabeth Wright of Newbury OH. She had 13 great-grandchildren. Also Betty had three step-children: George Armington, Steven Armington, and Linda Armington. She had 10 step-grandchildren. As a child Betty walked in the woods and fields with her father, who taught her about nature: the flowers, trees, animals, and especially the birds that surrounded her. These as well as the values he exuded, the delights of family and the excitement of learning, were interests that would be hers until the end of her almost 100 years of life. At age 16 she was selected to represent Pennsylvania at a Girl Scout international encampment in Switzerland. After graduating from Smith College, Betty took a cruise in the Eastern Mediterranean following the itinerary of Ulysses, as described in Homer's Odyssey, during which she swam the Hellespont. She then worked for a financial advisory firm in Boston and for Macy's in New York City while she waited for Bill Steck, whom she had met on a blind date at Dartmouth College, to finish Harvard Law School. In 1935 they married and moved to Cleveland. Betty focused on her children's activities: she was the President of the elementary school PTA and the Lake County PTA Council, the President of the Lake County Girl Scout Council; and a board member of the Red Barn and Red Oak Camps. Her interest in the out-of-doors led to becoming President of the Cleveland Botanical Garden, President of the Colony Garden Club, a member of Ikebana International, and a volunteer at the Holden Arboretum. She loved living in two houses that both had beautiful views of ponds, water birds, and woods and their creatures. When she found a large black snake in her kitchen one night and a small black snake curled on a dining room rug one afternoon, she did not shriek but said, "The snakes were in these woods long before any humans were here." Her interest in the community led her to serve on the Phyllis Wheatley Board, and to volunteer for the Red Cross and the Women's Council of the Cleveland Museum of Art. She was co-chair of the Landscaping Committee of University Circle Inc. She served as President of the Women's Council of the Western Reserve Historical Society and then 22 years as a board member of the museum. Always grateful for her Smith College education, she became a life-long volunteer. She was President of the Cleveland Smith Club, President of her Class of 1932, head of her class's 50th and 70th Reunions, and Chair or a member of numerous national alumnae committees. She stayed involved for 75 years and was on two national fund raising committees until a year before she died. She was delighted that her two daughters graduated from the college. Betty's optimism, her radiant smile, sparkling eyes, eagerness to learn and to make new friends, her participation in her Kirtland book club and bridge games She won the jackpot at her last game a few weeks ago. will be missed. A funeral mass to celebrate Betty's life will be held at Divine Word Church, 8100 Eagle Road in Kirtland, at 11:00 on Monday July 12. The family prefers that, in lieu of flowers, those who wish may make contributions in her name to the Scholarship Fund of Smith College, Alumnae House, Northampton, MA 01063; Hospice of the Western Reserve, 300 E. 185 Street, Cleveland, OH 44119; or The Cleveland Botanical Garden, 11030 E. Blvd, Cleveland, OH 44106. FUNERAL MASS WILL BE CELEBRATED AT THE DIVINE WORD CHURCH, 8100 EAGLE RD., KIRTLAND, OH ON MONDAY, JULY 12 AT 11 AM.


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