Alumni Spotlight Elizabeth Kitson (1918-2019)
“Its aim was to make, of Bermuda girls, women who would inspire society with high conceptions of character and conduct – women who would have a full and complete use of brains, great love of truth, open minds, kindly hearts, and correct ideas of wisdom, justice and righteousness.”
- General Russell Hastings, early benefactor of The Bermuda High School for Girls
There is no doubt that General Hastings had high aspirations for the young women who would attend The Bermuda High School for Girls (BHS), and one young lady in particular, who began BHS in 1922, would go on to embody these ideals in every way. Elizabeth Kitson‘35 died in June, 2019, at 100-years- old, and is remembered for being a remarkable woman who achieved much in her long life. Mrs Kitson was born Betty Muriel Gorham in 1918 at Greenbank in Salt Kettle, Paget, the fourth of five children. Her father was AJ Gorham who owned AJ Gorham Import Co. on Front Street and her mother, Muriel Masters, ran a busy, happy home for her family. From a young age, Betty showed signs of the strong and determined woman she would become. Her daughter, Susana Willingham ‘69, recalls: “When her older brother Richard started Kindergarten at BHS, she wanted to go too and she kicked up such a stink that her father wrote to BHS to request that she gain early entry.”
Thus Betty began BHS at 4-and-a-half and, when she was old enough, used to ride her bike to school as there were no cars in those days. She finished school early at age 16 and then headed off to Penn Hall Junior College to study speech and drama, where she graduated with Honours. She then went to Northwestern University School of Speech, but left after three years to marry British Naval Officer, Geoffrey Kitson, before World War II broke out. Their first son, Kirkham was born in 1940, and when her husband was called to England to serve, she decided to go with the baby to England by ship, despite the dangers. Two days into the voyage their ship was torpedoed, but they survived the shipwreck and eventually made it to England. It is hard to imagine such a situation for a young mother to go through, but as with everything, Betty had a “get on with it” attitude, and this story became one of
26 Torchbearer Fall 2019
“When her older brother started at Kindergarten at BHS, she kicked up such a stink that her father wrote to BHS to request that she gain early entry.””
many woven into the fabric of her long and incredible life. A second son, Richard, was born in 1944 and the family returned to Bermuda after a few years in London. In 1947, Geoffrey opened Kitson Insurance, and Betty opened Kitson Real Estate, both of which are still in operation today. Susanna was born in 1952, which was the same year that Elizabeth noticed a house on Pitts Bay Road which had fallen into disrepair. She bought and lovingly restored the house and turned “Rosedon” into a B&B, which
is now a Relais & Chateau property run by her grandchildren, Lee Petty and Scott Kitson. Until she died, Betty lived on the Rosedon property, celebrating her 100th birthday there with family last year. For a woman in the 1940s and early 1950s, she was remarkably ahead of her time, to be raising a young family and have started two new businesses. When asked where that drive came from, her daughter has no hesitation. “Her father. He was a businessman, and a force to be reckoned with. In the middle of five children, she could have gotten lost in the shuffle, but she elected to stand up for herself,” says Susanna. Betty’s grandmother was also an important influence on her. Her grandfather died when her father was only two years old. He had been a chemist, and when he died his widow was left to run the business, quite unusual for a woman in that time. All throughout her life, Betty identified with this strong woman, never realising that she couldn’t walk, as she never saw it impact her ability to manage the business from her wheelchair behind the counter. It therefore comes as no surprise to learn that Betty was also a suffragette who supported women’s rights and the
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