ELIZABETH ANN (BETTY BYAM) SHER May 27, 1930 – June 22, 2021 Elizabeth Ann (Betty Byam) Sher, retired Foreign Service Staff Officer, U.S. Department of State, died peacefully in her Fearrington Village home in Pittsboro, North Carolina, on June 22nd , 2021. Betty, daughter of Benny and Elizabeth Byam, was born on May 27, 1930. She was raised in Windom, Minnesota and graduated from the Windom Public Schools, Class of 1948. After leaving Windom in 1952, Betty spent several years in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Music and singing were extremely important to her. She appeared in many musical events in Windom and while living in Colorado Springs, she was soloist with the Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestra, Colorado College Opera Workshop, Colorado Civic Theater Singers. She performed on TV as well as on stages in Denver, Cripple Creek and Pueblo. Betty was paid soloist with the First Methodist Church and appeared frequently as guest soloist at the Broadmoor Hotel. Throughout her career, she continued her vocal talents and appeared in concert and as soloist in the many countries to which she had been assigned. Betty began her U.S. Government career in 1954 when she was assigned to the (Special Staff) Historical Division of Headquarters, U.S. Army, Europe, located in Karlsruhe, Germany. During that assignment she met Military Historian Ronald Sher and they were married in Baden-Baden in January 1955. It was after that assignment in 1958 that Betty and Ron continued their "team" Foreign Service careers, with Betty assigned to various U.S. Government Agencies (Department of Defense (DOD), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and U.S. Department of State). In Hawaii (Secretary General Staff, Headquarters, U.S. Army Pacific), Vientiane, Laos (USAID), Lomé, Togo (African American Institute, funded by USAID), Dakar, Senegal (USAID), Washington, D.C. (Protocol Office of the Secretary of Defense, McNamara), U.S. Embassy, Belgrade, Yugoslavia (Department of State), U.S. Mission to the United Nations (New York, assigned -during their tenures- to the Offices of Ambassadors Moynihan, Scranton, Young and Leonard), and the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China, retiring in China in 1980. During her Foreign Service career, Betty was notably recognized with 10 Outstanding, Sustained Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards. In 1979, Betty was nominated for recognition as the State Department's Outstanding Foreign Service Staff Officer. She ranked very high in that competition and was given another Meritorious Honor Service Award and a promotion in her FSS grade. Betty felt fortunate to have led a well-traveled, interesting and adventurous life. Including the countries to which she had government assignments, she spent time exploring over 55 countries, nearly all the Islands (particularly the Caribbean), and all fifty U.S. States. Betty shared her travel experiences with published articles in newspapers and various magazines. In November, 1968, Betty was featured in a New York Times news article by Gloria Emerson, as well as STATE Magazine, Public Diplomacy, Raleigh News & Observer, Durham Herald, Chapel Hill News, The Citizen, and the UN Observer. After retirements, Betty and Ron lived in Windom for ten years. They both served their community well working with Senior Citizen programs, Friends of the Library, Dollars for Scholars, Hospital Board and local, state-wide and national political events. Betty conceived of and organized Windom's first All-Windom High School Class Reunion in 1990. Well into planning, she enlisted the help of Mary Lou Peterson to help with all the final events held. Living joyfully in Fearrington Village in North Carolina since 1990, both Betty and Ron were actively serving on Boards of Directors or as Instructors at the Duke University Institute for Learning in Retirement, United Nations Association, Temple Theater, Senior Citizen Organizations, UNA, Galloway Ridge Retirement Center, Editor of Homeowners Newsletter, and various committees and organizations within the Village. Ron died in 1999 and Betty continued living in Fearrington, remaining actively involved with many Village activities. Betty was preceded in death by her husband Ronald; her mother and father (Elizabeth and Benny Byam); her brother, sister-in-law and niece (Corky and LaVonne Byam and Laurie Vock); nephew Kerry Byam; her brother Rodney DeWayne Byam; her parents-in-law, Irving and Gussie Sher. In 1937 it was the death of her 5-year-old brother, Rodney DeWayne Byam, hit by an automobile as he disembarked his school bus, that brought about state-wide and international school bus laws established for children's safety. She is survived by brother Peter of Apache Junction, AZ, nieces and nephews – Rodney Byam, Melissa Jo Grupe, Joy Pankonin, Paul Byam, Bennie Byam. To her many friends and acquaintances through the years, she leaves her thanks and appreciation for their many kindnesses and courtesies to her. At Betty's specific request, no 'remembrance or memorial' gatherings will be held in either Fearrington Village or her home town in Windom, Minnesota. "One is not born a woman, but rather becomes one." (Simone de Beauvoir) What makes a woman? Strength. Resilience. Compassion. Beauty from within. When I think of what it means to be a woman, I stand a little taller because I know I stood on the shoulders of women who came before me and paved the way. ~ Betty Sher, 2021 ~