In many ways, Bettie Brand was a woman who defied the odds. Born in 1917, she was raised in a time when receiving an MRS was often more revered than attaining a degree, or even a job. She wanted to be a doctor, but finances prevented college. Instead, she attended a top secretarial school and later became an executive assistant, loving life as a successful career woman. In time, she found another love: Ash Brand, a rising corporate exec at IBM. They married. Had three wonderful children, Susan, Jeffrey and Candace. And in her new role as a giving, full-time mom, Bettie also managed to give back as a dedicated volunteer for the blind and her church. Life was busy, big and blessed. But on December 16, 1960, Ash unexpectedly died of a heart attack, leaving Bettie, 42, a widow with three children to raise. Friends soon advised that she couldn’t afford her house. So after 20 years as a housewife, Bettie went back to work, determined to prove them wrong, while proving to herself she could do it on her own.

And she did. Long hours, tight budgeting, smart investing and her strong, yet compassionate, core kept the roof over their heads, along with a loving, stable home life. Later, when the kids left for college, she retired, followed a dream to California and beat the odds again by earning a college degree herself – in her late 60s, no less! The oldest in her class, Bettie graduated summa cum laude to a standing ovation of her peers and professors.

In what might be considered her last example of transcending the norm, Bettie died on December 16, 2008 – exactly 48 years to the day that her husband had passed. Many describe Bettie as poised, beautiful, bright, funny, and as fiercely loyal as she was determined. How she chose to live her life provides the context for which this fund was formed, will endure, and all the while help support and inspire other women to believe in their own self-sufficiency.