Betty Rose Dudley, 1951-2011
Nov. 13th, 2011 11:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sereneSpent Friday night and yesterday cooking, cooking, cooking (and a little cleaning) for Betty's memorial. It was really wonderful to see how many people came out to share their stories about Betty's life and her impact on them. Lots of her co-workers came, and that's pretty remarkable, I think, especially considering that she retired four years ago.
I loved Betty, and she gave me a real education about class issues. One of her oldest friends was at the memorial and spoke about how Betty was an observer of class stuff; I wanted to say (but didn't get up the nerve to, in a crowd of people who knew Betty better than I did) that she was not only an observer -- she was an ambassador. She could have passed for middle class. Instead, she was open and unashamed of her working-class background, and helped me to understand how some of the attitudes I learned while growing up in a middle-class family in the suburbs were simply wrong and biased.
I'm sorry she's gone.
Today, I'm re-reading a bunch of stuff by and about Betty, and I thought I'd share them with you. They're really worth reading.
Her posts on SF Bay Area fat dyke history start here and continue if you keep hitting the "next post" button: http://dbubley.livejournal.com/12150.html
Her wonderful and much-published article, "Fat Kills": http://fatso.com/oldsite/bigtruth.html
Her thought-provoking take on Columbine: http://laurietobyedison.com/discuss/?p=292
An article from Marilyn Wann that touches on the kinds of impact Betty had on all of us who knew her: http://blogs.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist/2011/07/a_fat_pride_parade_could_expan.php (Marilyn also wrote a beautiful eulogy on Facebook, if I'm remembering correctly, but I don't have access to that any more. Can anyone find it?)
The Body Impolitic article about her that really gives a good flavor of her: http://laurietobyedison.com/discuss/?p=6177
My short eulogy post, the day after she died: http://serene.dreamwidth.org/1291526.html
I loved Betty, and she gave me a real education about class issues. One of her oldest friends was at the memorial and spoke about how Betty was an observer of class stuff; I wanted to say (but didn't get up the nerve to, in a crowd of people who knew Betty better than I did) that she was not only an observer -- she was an ambassador. She could have passed for middle class. Instead, she was open and unashamed of her working-class background, and helped me to understand how some of the attitudes I learned while growing up in a middle-class family in the suburbs were simply wrong and biased.
I'm sorry she's gone.
Today, I'm re-reading a bunch of stuff by and about Betty, and I thought I'd share them with you. They're really worth reading.
Her posts on SF Bay Area fat dyke history start here and continue if you keep hitting the "next post" button: http://dbubley.livejournal.com/12150.html
Her wonderful and much-published article, "Fat Kills": http://fatso.com/oldsite/bigtruth.html
Her thought-provoking take on Columbine: http://laurietobyedison.com/discuss/?p=292
An article from Marilyn Wann that touches on the kinds of impact Betty had on all of us who knew her: http://blogs.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist/2011/07/a_fat_pride_parade_could_expan.php (Marilyn also wrote a beautiful eulogy on Facebook, if I'm remembering correctly, but I don't have access to that any more. Can anyone find it?)
The Body Impolitic article about her that really gives a good flavor of her: http://laurietobyedison.com/discuss/?p=6177
My short eulogy post, the day after she died: http://serene.dreamwidth.org/1291526.html
no subject
Date: 2011-11-13 09:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-14 02:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-15 04:06 am (UTC)