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Betty Lethin
is 'Unsung Heroine'
By Mary Ann Price
Citizen Staff
When
Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Lethin received a letter with a return address
from a government agency she hadn’t heard of, she tossed it in a
wastebasket. Later, about to empty the basket, she decided to
open the envelope. That was when Lethin discovered that she had
been named an Unsung Heroine for 2008 by the Massachusetts
Commission on the Status of Women.
 “When I
opened it, I couldn’t believe it,” she said with a laugh. “I had
no clue.” A ceremony was held May 14 at the Gardner Auditorium
at the State House. Lethin was nominated by Shirley Morse,
president of the Community Club of Canton. In her nomination
letter, Morse said that Lethin, a registered nurse, “has the
unique ability to know who needs what and when. She solves
problems for all the needy and allows them to maintain their
dignity. Betty can be found everywhere — giving flu shots, being
Secret Santa or at Hessco helping the elders. The care she shows
for every human being is outstanding.”
Lethin has
served as a public school nurse and public health nurse in
Canton. In the early 1960s, she and her late husband, Walter,
built a house in Canton where they raised their four children
and quickly became part of the community.
“My husband
and I were St. Gerard’s CYO people,” she said. Working with
teenagers and young adults extended to their home. They were
foster parents to many children, provided a safe haven for kids
who needed help and welcomed unwed mothers.
Marybeth
McCaffrey, Lethin’s daughter, recalled her mother’s compassion
and generosity to those in need. “I went to college in 1975,”
she said. “She moved me into my dorm. We had a nice freshman
dinner with the dean. She was leaving, kissed me, and said, ‘By
the way, are you coming home this weekend?’ I asked why. She
said, ‘Well, there is a free bedroom and someone needs a home.
Is that okay with you?’ Of course it was. It was a way of life
in the Lethin home.”
Retired
Canton Fire Chief Jim Fitzpatrick has been a friend of Lethin’s
for many years and accompanied her to the State House ceremony.
He began working with her on a professional basis in 1974, when
Canton first began an ambulance service in town and firefighters
responded to emergency calls from residents. “The firemen would
find people with various problems,” he said. “We’d give her a
call (at any hour) to see if she could resolve them.”
One
difficult situation Fitzpatrick remembered was that of a woman
and her dog. “It was back in the hinterlands of Canton in the
winter,” he said. “All the pipes had frozen up.”
Fitzpatrick
said the woman took her dog, climbed into her bed and waited to
die. After firefighters found her, they contacted Lethin. As the
public health nurse, she was able to contact agencies to restore
utilities to the house and get help for the woman and her dog.
All of the
work Lethin did for others over the years was done in
confidence. “One lady wanted to help a family at Christmas time,
with one condition: that she knew the family so she could see
the joy,” said McCaffrey. “My mom said no and explained that
things were confidential. She said, ‘You never know; it could be
your neighbor.’ It turns out it was her neighbor.”
Lethin has
been involved with the Canton Help Line, the food pantry, the
health fair, the Council on Aging, and well-baby clinics.
In the week
following the Unsung Heroine ceremony, Lethin responded to
messages and e-mails sent to her, and arranged for referrals to
the food pantry, referrals to a town department, free medical
care and fuel assistance.
“We try to
be able to help people to keep their utilities from being shut
off,” she explained.
Lethin has a
positive outlook on life and laughs often — two qualities that
help her to help others as successfully as she does.
“I can
honestly say I really love my, my crazy life,” she said. “I
enjoy the challenges.”
May 29, 2008
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