Lillian (Sabath) Betor, 89

Lillian (Sabath) Betor, 89, of North Dartmouth passed away on Monday, May 6. She was the wife of Edward P. Betor, with whom she enjoyed 68 years of marriage. Lillian was born on March 19, 1930, in Cleveland, Ohio, to the late Ameen and Nayfee (Barakey) Sabath.

Her parents, who immigrated from Lebanon in the 1900s, were active business owners in Cleveland and active in the Syrian-Lebanese community. Lillian graduated from John Hay High School in Cleveland in 1948 and worked in the business world before marrying and raising her family. After living in Ohio for many years, she and her husband moved to Massachusetts, where they owned and operated several McDonald franchises. She was known for her hospitality and helping to create a franchise that was more like a warm family-owned restaurant.

Lillian never met a stranger, and she befriended all whose paths she crossed, from church friends to McDonald regulars to clerks in stores she frequented. She was known for sending cards to everyone—those she knew well, those she’d just met, and even those she’d never met. Her family used to chide that she was singlehandedly keeping Hallmark Cards in business.

She and her husband loved the theater and traveled regularly to New York City to enjoy Broadway shows, sometimes seeing four shows in one weekend.

Her family was everything to her, and she loved to be with her children, her grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren, always checking in with them, and every night praying for each by name. A long-time member of St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Cleveland and more recently of St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church in Pawtucket, she was a woman of quiet yet strong faith who lived her faith through her unmatched generosity of time and resources. Her motto, which she repeated often, was that she wanted to “give with a warm hand, not a cold hand.”

In addition to her devoted husband Edward, she is survived by her son Paul Betor and his wife Kerrie of North Dartmouth, their son David Banville, his wife Gabriela and daughter Claire, and their daughter Kerrie Anne Harrington and her husband Brian; and her daughter Lynn Marcotte and her husband Thomas of South Hamilton, their daughter Adrienne Dykstra and her husband Matthew and children Joelle, Rose and Daniel, and their son Peter Marcotte and his fiancée Leah Myers. Predeceased by her parents and her brother Fred Sabath, she is also survived by her sister and best friend Laurice Zambie, her brother Edward Sabath and his wife Mary, her sister-in-law Gloria Sabath, her sister-in-law Laverne Ameen and her husband William, and many beloved nieces, nephews, and friends.

Donations may be made in her name to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.

For online tributes please visit: www.waring-sullivan.com