Betty Feehan

Age 88

Betty was born Elizabeth Ann Malone on April 8, 1924 in New Iberia, Louisiana, to a Catholic family. Her mother was from French roots and her father Irish. Her mother taught her "proper" cooking and eating, which resulted in Betty becoming a good cook and stylish hostess. She believes her father, who was an engineer for Morton's salt mines at Avery Island, LA, was very bright. When she was 3 the family moved to Beaumont, TX, where her father tried his hand at real estate and insurance, but was caught in the midst of the depression. After about 3 years they all moved to Houston where Betty attended St. Ann's grammar school, then St. Agnes Academy for Young Ladies for high school. Next she went to Rice as an English major when there were 300 male students and 100 women admitted each year, and there was no tuition. The women had to be off campus by 5 PM each day. Because of World War II, Betty graduated in 3 years, in October 1944.

Jobs were scarce for English majors, so Betty lived with her parents and did what she describes as "menial" jobs. Then she met her future husband, Harvey Feehan, through a family connection: his uncle was married to her aunt. Harvey, who was 5 years older than Betty, was from New Orleans and graduated from Tulane. Harvey was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the Marine Corps when he graduated from Tulane in 1940. They were married at St. Ann's church in 1946 and had a reception at the Junior League, followed by a honeymoon in Mexico. They ended up moving 28 times in 20 years, all in the U.S. Some of the locations were Quantico, VA, Norfolk, VA, San Diego and La Jolla, CA. Betty's favorite location was in South Bend, IN, where Harvey spent 3 years as the executive officer of the naval ROTC program at Notre Dame University.

Their first child, Mark Malone, was born in Coronado, CA in 1949. Major Feehan was sent to Korea as Battalion Commander in 1950 and his battalion was among the troops trapped by the Chinese at the Chosin Reservoir. Betty gave him up for dead. Their second child, Andrew, was born in Houston in December, 1950. Then Mark died in March, 1951 and Harvey came home from Korea and was transferred to Norfolk, VA. Their third child, Brian, was born in Norfolk in August 1952; the fourth, John was born in Houston in 1955; and the fifth, Betsy in South Bend, IN in 1957. Currently, John, who is not married, lives with Betty. Andy, a painter and teacher, lives with his wife and 4 boys in France, and Brian, a renowned musician, lives with his wife and daughter in Switzerland. Betsy and her husband live in Houston. Betsy had 2 sons - one died at age 18 and the other is married with a son.

Harvey retired from the marines in 1965 after 20 years of service. They lived in La Jolla for a few years, then moved to Houston. Harvey got a job with Brown & Root Engineering Co., where his brother, Thomas, also worked. Harvey died in 1990.

Although Betty had not worked outside the home after marrying, when they came to Houston in the late 1960's she was not very happy in her marriage and decided to create a richer life for herself. In 1968 she went to work for Ben Du Bose at Du Bose Gallery. She found this exciting because the gallery handled framing and sales for many prominent Houstonians. Unfortunately, after about 4 years she injured her back and had to give up the gallery work. After a brief stint working with her brother-in-law at St. Anthony's Hospital, she got into the travel business in 1973.

Betty was a travel agent with several agencies, where she arranged trips, escorted groups and travelled all over the world. By the time she retired in 2010 she had visited 55 countries, including 12 trips to China and countless trips to Mexico and South America. Starting around 1980 she attended courses at The Women's Institute and Continuing Education at Rice.

In retirement Betty lives on her own, drives and remains very active. She has no current religious affiliation and identifies herself as a "recovering catholic". She stopped attending church about 30 years ago. She still takes courses and attends lectures at Rice, The Women's Institute, The World Affairs Council, the Rice Design Alliance and others. She attends openings at galleries and meets friends for lunch. Her "Lunch Bunch" group meets every month at a different restaurant. She has keen interest in the arts, reading and history and keeps herself quite busy. She has always been a "wanderer" since her mother sent her by herself on train trips when she was little. She attributes her vitality and longevity to her curiosity, broad interests, spirit of adventure, eating well, extensive walking and a martini before dinner.

Betty's most traumatic life experiences were the death of her first child and the death of a grandchild (in a motorcycle accident).