Elizabeth Clare Lavecchia

Elizabeth Clare LaVecchia passed away the morning of December 9, 2020. She was born in Orange, NJ, on August 12, 1970. She was the fifth of seven children born to Emy and John LaVecchia, and was raised in South Orange, New Jersey. Betsy, as she was known, went to Marshall School from Kindergarten through 4th grade. Along with 4 of her siblings, she transferred to Our Lady of Sorrows in South Orange for the balance of her elementary and middle school schooling. She always excelled in school. She graduated from Marylawn of the Oranges in 1988, and was Valedictorian of her graduating class. Throughout high school she played on the Varsity Girls Basketball team. She also played Varsity tennis (with her sister Catzel on the team as well) and the team won State Parochial B Championships in 1986. In addition, she sang in the choir and accompanied the choir in the piano with Catzel, and participated in all of the musical productions at both Marylawn and at Seton Hall Prep. Betsy was gentle, sweet, kind and cared for others greatly. She was always researching, reading and learning. While growing up in South Orange, she spent an idyllic childhood playing with her siblings and neighborhood friends daily. She enjoyed wonderful trips and adventures with her family such as camping and canoeing down the St Croix River in Maine for a week. Her family belonged to Rock Spring Club in West Orange, where they spent their summers swimming, playing tennis and golf and winters playing paddle tennis and sledding in the golf course and skating on Cable Lake. Her family also spent many years of long winter weekends and vacations cross country skiing in Vermont which led to our family’s love of the area and led her parents to buy a house and ultimately settle in Dorset. Betsy attended and thrived at Franklin and Marshall College, graduating in 1992. While at F&M, her love of language and linguistics grew and she earned a BA in French with a minor in psychology. She taught French in Geneva Switzerland one summer, and spent her junior year abroad in Montpelier, living with a French family she would remain in contact with for the rest of her life. Her love of the French culture led her to host a French exchange student a few summers ago. She also played varsity tennis while in college and participated in a number of other clubs and organizations. After graduating from F&M, Betsy got a Masters in Speech Pathology from Teacher's College at Columbia University, in New York City, beginning her life-long professional passion of helping children. While in New York she began her career as a Speech and Language Pathologist at Albert Einstein Hospital in the Bronx. Betsy married Stephen Price in 1997. They moved to Bronxville, NY, and Betsy had her first born, Nicholas Cahill Price, in May of 2000. Noah Avery Price was born in May of 2003, after which they moved to Danby, Vermont, living in a custom built house on Colvin Hill, co-designed by Betsy and her oldest brother and architect, John. Once settled in Vermont, Betsy embarked upon creating a wonderful recreational area for toddlers and pre-K children, resulting in the opening of The Jungle Gym in Manchester, VT. This became a staple in the local community, fulfilling her desire to facilitate all things to do with the healthy development of young children. In 2009, Betsy shifted gears, applying her Master's degree as an SLP, working with toddlers and Pre-K children for the BRSU. She saw children all over southern Vermont, in the various pre-schools and homes, and was a veritable 'Child Whisperer.' All of her children loved her greatly. and she treated all of her children as though they were her own. Betsy spent three school years as a first grade teacher at Maple Street School in part to be able to spend more time every day with her beloved sons, while simultaneously still applying her life-long passion for helping children. After Maple Street, Betsy returned back to the BRSU, where she worked for the balance of her career. Also in 2009, Betsy began a 12 year-relationship with Scott McCampbell, whom she had known previously from her childhood in South Orange. They spent the last 12 years together as a family, in Sandgate, VT, then Dorset, along with Nick and Noah, and later their beloved, brown Newfoundland, Tundra. During the last few years of her life, Betsy discovered a new talent and passion for refinishing and artistically painting old furniture. She taught herself every aspect of the trade, and in short order, produced jaw-dropping master-works that she sold, and amassed a fervent legion of followers and admirers of her work and designs. Betsy is survived by her family Scott McCampbell, her sons Nick and Noah, her parents John and Emy LaVecchia and her siblings John LaVecchia and his wife Jane Davies, Emma LaVecchia, Mike LaVecchia, Catzel LaVecchia, Vince LaVecchia and his wife Megan Pruitt, and Nick LaVecchia and his wife Molly Johnson, all of whom adored her. She is also greatly loved by her nephews Ian, Connor, Jack, Tim, Joe, Owen and Leo. She will always be cherished by her many Cahill and LaVecchia aunts, uncles and cousins, and many dear friends who admired and loved her. She will be greatly missed but always in our hearts. For memorial donations in Betsy’s name, please use the following link: https://www.letsgrowkids.org/ or to Let's Grow Kids in care of Brewster-Shea Funeral Home, P.O. Box 885 Manchester Center, VT 05255.