ORONO – Betty (Soule) Thelin, 93, passed away October 15, 2017 at her residence at Dirigo Pines in Orono. She was born Florence Elizabeth Soule on May 24,1924, in Manhattan, NY, to Florence Olive (Smith) Soule and Dr. William L. Soule of Brooklyn, NY.
Betty went to public schools in Brooklyn, and then entered St. Lawrence University, but left in 1943 to join a wartime program for women at Penn State University, sponsored by Curtis-Wright Aircraft Corp. Betty studied drafting, and then worked on aircraft plans until the war ended. She then went to Colby College (a family tradition) and graduated in 1946. During the next three years she took various day, night, and summer courses, earning a Master’s degree in Mathematics in 1949, from the University of Wisconsin.
Betty began teaching in 1950 at a girls’ school in Texas. After a year there she moved to Connecticut, where she spent the rest of her teaching years. In 1954, she married Leonard Pope, a machinist, and they bought a farmhouse in Naugatuck, CT, where Leonard kept a horse and Betty kept a garden. When Leonard passed away early, a victim of diabetes, Betty sold most of their property, retaining a portion upon which she built a small cottage. After some years, Betty met Leon Thelin at a local square dance. Twenty years older than Betty and retired, Lee charmed Betty, and they married in 1975. Lee moved into Betty’s cottage and the pair danced, gardened, and travelled widely. Lee passed away in 1999, leaving Betty to move into the Masonic Home in Wallingford, CT as they had planned.
In 2007, Betty relocated to the Inn at Dirigo Pines in Orono, to be near her brother, Bill Soule and his wife Lois. Betty made new friends while keeping up with Connecticut relatives and friends. After some years in an apartment, Betty moved to “The Arbor” at Dirigo Pines, where she remained under full-time care until her quiet passing at the age of 93.
In addition to her parents and husbands, Betty was predeceased by her elder sister, Jane Engert.. Besides Bill and Lois, Betty is survived by her nieces Helen Soule Donahey and her husband Richard and their daughter Samantha, of Vermont; Nancy Soule Marks and her husband, Alan and their children James, Madeline and Jeremy of Orono; and Jane Engert of Eugene, Oregon. Betty also leaves her nephews William Engert of Washington, DC and James Engert and his wife Lise and daughter Catherine of Montreal, Canada. Betty is fondly remembered by Lee’s daughter-in-law, Ginger Thelin.
Betty’s family extends sincere thanks to the dedicated staff at the Arbor in Dirigo Pines and to the additional support team from Beacon Hospice, who aided Betty through her transition with grace and dignity, and supported her family with compassion. A memorial service and interment will be at Middlebury Cemetery in Connecticut at a later date. Condolences to the family may be expressed at www.BrookingsSmith.com.