Elizabeth (Betty) Louise Vissering Lafferty passed from this earth shortly after midnight on the morning of April 8, 2015, at her home on La Querencia Ranch in Santa Rita, New Mexico.

Her devoted husband Fred was by her side at the moment of her passing. The daughter of Major General Norman Vissering and Nancy Cotter Vissering, Betty was born on May 25, 1931 in Tampa, Florida. She spent a good portion of her youth in Washington, D.C., while her father fought in World War II as a staff officer to General Eisenhower.

Betty and her younger brother, Norman, were among the first American dependents to move to Germany immediately after the war. As an adolescent, Betty worked after school and weekends at the Smithsonian Zoo, caring for animals. She was awarded a scholarship at sixteen to the prestigious Corcoran School of Art and Design in Washington, D.C.

At seventeen, Betty was swept off her feet by the dashing Naval Academy midshipman Fred Lafferty.