Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
Betty Gilby celebrates her birthday with, from left, daughter Elaine, son Joe III and grandson Joe IV, May 25.
Betty Gilby is 23 years old in this photo taken in Washington.
Betty Gilby, front, center, is greeted home from the Honor Flight in 2016 by, from left, back, Phyllis Audiss, Myrna Binford, Wayne King, Carol King, LeNita Hague and Diane Jansen. In front, next to Gilby, is Pam Hermansader, who accompanied her on the flight.
Phyliss Audiss
Special to the Village News
Elizabeth Janet Stutheit was born May 31, 1919, in Nebraska. Recently, Betty Gilby celebrated her 100th birthday with an open house held at the Fallbrook Woman's clubhouse, May 25. She said she was thrilled to greet around 70 guests who came to help her observe the significant day.
She saw 19 family members travel from across the United States. A few came from California but most of them traveled from other states – Arkansas, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. There was also one relative who came all the way from France.
Food was provided by Cafe des Artistes. For entertainment, 13-year-old great-granddaughter Alexis Gilby played the ukulele and sang "Cut My Lip" by Twenty One Pilots, and Bob Freaney played several selections on the piano.
Betty Gilby grew up in a rural community. After receiving a master's degree in nutrition from the University of Iowa, she received her first professional position as a therapeutic dietitian at Doctor's Hospital in the District of Columbia. It was there that she first considered enlisting in the Army.
Her family for several generations had all served in wars from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Civil War, to World War I. So Betty said she felt it was her duty to serve. She served as a second lieutenant as a dietitian and was soon sent to North Africa, Aug. 20, 1943.
In early 1944, Gilby was reassigned to the 56th Evacuation Hospital in Italy. In 2017, she wrote and published a book of her Army experiences in the 5th Army in Italy. In September 2017, she participated in the San Diego Honor Flight to visit the memorials in Washington.
The army gave Gilby additional education from which she hoped to earn a doctorate. While studying at the University of Chicago, she met her future husband, Joseph Gilby Jr. He had also been in the Army and had been a prisoner of war in Germany. The doctorate was put on hold when Betty and Joe Gilby decided to get married.
After they were married, they had four children, Beverly, Joanne, Elaine and Joe Gilby III. During the early years of their marriage, Betty Gilby continued to work as a dietician, before teaching elementary school and pursuing research projects, while Joe Gilby worked as a certified public accountant. They both enjoyed playing bridge. Joe Gilby died in 1999, shortly after the couple moved to Fallbrook.
Betty Gilby continued to enjoy painting and winning prizes, collecting antiques and restoring historical places. She also enjoys opera and other productions that she was introduced to during her war years.
Although she has slowed down a little bit, she remains active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1924, Fallbrook Woman's Club book club and writing group, Fallbrook Encore Club and American Association of University Women.
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