Margaret Elizabeth 'Betty'
van der Smissen
Margaret Elizabeth 'Betty'
van der Smissen, 80, of Fayetteville, died Thursday (Nov. 6, 2008). She was
born Dec. 27, 1927, in Great Bend to the Rev. T.A. and Margaret van der
Smissen. Betty earned a law degree from The University of Kansas in 1949 and a
recreation doctorate from Indiana University in 1955, giving her a foundation
for a career that spanned more than 50 years. She was the most quoted person in
the area of sport and recreation negligence and wrote accreditation standards
for recreation university curricula, parks and recreation agencies, and
American Camping Association (ACA) camps. In addition to teaching university
classes, she was invited to give more than 500 presentations/lectures
worldwide, and authored or co-authored numerous textbooks chapters,
professional articles and educational films and videos.
Betty truly reached the
pinnacle of her field. She was honored with nearly every award her field has to
offer. Her greatest legacy remains the hundreds of recreation professionals she
helped train and the positive impact they now have on parks and recreation
patrons.
Betty is survived by a niece,
Gayle van der Smissen Northrup and her husband, Robert; a nephew, Craig van der
Smissen and his wife, Nancy; a great-niece, Bethany van der Smissen and her
fiancé, Zach Jones; two great-nephews, Justus van der Smissen and Josh van der
Smissen and his wife, Keeley, and their children, Ayden and Onella; and
hundreds of students to whom she dedicated her life.
Visitation will be from 5 to
9 p.m. Wednesday at Petersen Funeral Home in Newton.
Funeral service will be at 10
a.m. Thursday at the funeral home chapel, with Pastor Heidi Regier Kreider
presiding.
Burial will be at Greenwood
Cemetery in Newton.
Betty was a founding member
of the Association for Experiential education. An endowment in her honors
already exists there and was her preference for contributions. In lieu of
flowers, the family suggests tax-deductible contributions to the AEE van der
Smissen Research Endowment, which can be made in care of Petersen Funeral Home,
215 N. Main St., Newton, KS 67114.
