Betty Dorward

HOLDEN - Betty Ann Morrison Dorward passed away on June 10, 2025 at Holden Rehab & Skilled Nursing Center with her children by her side. She will be greatly missed by her friends and family. She was predeceased by her husband of 69 years, Donald Arthur Dorward of Charlton, MA and her only sibling, Patsy M. Morrison of Dallas, TX.

Betty is survived by her children, Thomas A. Dorward and his wife Lisa Granquist of Keene, NH, and Patricia (Patti) Dorward Barney and her husband Chris Barney of Willard, Utah. She was a loving grandmother to 8 grandchildren and great grandmother to 6 great grandchildren.

Betty was born on June 25, 1932 in Throckmorton, Texas to the late Thomas and Zula Cook Morrison. Excelling in school, she graduated as the class valedictorian and went on to get a B.A. in Sociology from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas in 1953, graduating early to marry Don on March 28th. Don was in the Air force stationed at Wichita Falls. Betty and Don moved to Holden in 1954 and raised their family there. In 1985, they built a home on Brooks Pond in North Brookfield where they spent summers and traveled to Sarasota, Florida for the winter months. In the fall of 2017, they moved to an apartment at Overlook in Charlton.

In addition to raising two children, Betty worked side by side with her husband part-time at their family business, Fuller Regalia & Costume Company, later renamed Fuller Regalia & Flag Company. She also substitute taught in the Holden Elementary and Jr. High Schools as well as tutored in the Sarasota, FL school system. Betty volunteered her time & talents in several organizations: Holden Hospital Auxiliary, the Whitcomb Hall for the Blind, the Cerebral Palsy Clinic at Memorial Hospital, the Holden Grange where she was a 70 year member, PEO, Chapter N of Worcester, where she was a 65 year member, the Junior League of Worcester, and she was a member of the Congregational Churches of Holden, Sarasota & North Brookfield.

Betty was a happy person who loved to have fun and who loved most people and animals. She enjoyed gardening, dancing with Don, playing shuffleboard, swimming and reading, and playing cards. She also spent many days traveling with and sharing in her husband's enjoyment of antique vehicles. She was a woman of deep faith.

A Celebration of Life ceremony for both Betty and Don will be held at the First Congregational Church in North Brookfield later this summer at a date yet to be determined.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to First Congregational Church of North Brookfield or to PEO Programs: Cottey College at www.cottey.edu/peo or the Education Loan Fund through PEO International at www.peointernational.org