Elizabeth “Betsy” Marsh Ellis

TYLER — Memorial services for Tyler civic leader Elizabeth (Betsy) Swann Marsh Ellis were held on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, at Christ Episcopal Church downtown. Graveside services were held at Rose Hill Cemetery. Friends were invited to celebrate Betsy’s life at Willow Brook Country Club afterward. Betsy died at home surrounded by her family, having lived life to its fullest for 82 years.

Betsy, the daughter of the late Elizabeth and William H. Marsh II, was born in Newcastle, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Tyler as a descendant of the city’s early settlers and community leaders. After attending Camp Waldemar for years as a proud Aztec and graduating from Robert E. Lee High School with her 16 best friends, Betsy attended The University of Texas at Austin, earning a sociology degree. She was an active member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and then the alumnae association in Tyler, which recently acknowledged her 64 years of Kappa service.

Betsy married the late Elmer G. Ellis, former president and CEO of the East Texas Medical Center Regional Healthcare System (ETMC), in 1992. They cherished more than 25 years together through a focus on family, home, travel and service. She adored her three children – Kingsley Edward Smith, Evans Swann Smith and Elizabeth Smith Ortega – and was a devoted grandmother who celebrated each grandchild’s accomplishments.

From 1984 to 2018, Betsy served on ETMC’s leadership team. As director of volunteer services, she supervised a dynamic workforce of more than 150 adult volunteers in the ETMC Tyler Auxiliary and fostered the hospital’s Junior Volunteer program for teens. She then became an integral part of ETMC’s corporate administration. With “Mr. Ellis,” she shared in the advancement of healthcare throughout East Texas under ETMC’s mission to bring hospitals and related services to home communities. Together they participated in professional advocacy organizations, including the Texas Hospital Association and the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Betsy exemplified the spirit of community service. As a member of the Junior League of Tyler, she held a wide variety of leadership roles, including president. Betsy inherited her mother’s abiding love for the natural world, as reflected in her long service to the Gertrude Windsor Garden Club (twice president) and the Garden Club of America. She prized her longtime home, Ravenwood, which features the beauty of Tyler’s original azaleas and holds the special designations of a Texas Historic Landmark and inclusion in the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Gardens.

Betsy served as a board member for a host of organizations, including Hospice of East Texas, East Texas Crisis Center, Salvation Army Auxiliary, Tyler Mental Health Association, City of Tyler Parks and Recreation Department and the Camp Tyler Foundation. She also provided enthusiastic leadership as chair of the Tyler Museum of Art Gala, American Heart Association, Heart Ball, Order of the Rose Ball and multiple other committees of the Texas Rose Festival, which honored Betsy as the honorary chair of the 90th Texas Rose Festival. In 2007, she and Elmer were jointly recognized by the East Texas Council of the Boy Scouts of America with the Distinguished Citizen Good Turn Award; she was extremely proud of her two Eagle Scout sons. She was a member of Christ Episcopal Church and Willow Brook Country Club.

In May 2023, Betsy donated the Elizabeth Sweet Peacock Marsh Garden at Tyler Junior College in honor of her mother. This beautiful addition to TJC could not be more fitting, given her spirit of service to others and her love of gardening and conservation.

Betsy was preceded in death by her husband, Elmer, and her parents. Survivors include son Kingsley Smith (Robin Sax), Los Angeles; son Dr. Evans Smith (Carrie Caton Smith), Tyler; daughter Elizabeth Smith Ortega, Houston; and her brother William (Bill) Marsh III, Tyler. Grandchildren are Taylor Margaret Smith, Marshall King Smith, Hannah Sarah Katzenstein, Hattie MaGee Smith Shelton and husband Jakob, Henry Marsh Smith, Eliza Caton Pillsbury, Mark Hampton Pillsbury Jr., Elizabeth Sweet Tapp, and Aurora Luciana Ortega. Additional survivors include Mignon Adams and husband Bill, William Harold Marsh and wife Louisa, Audrey Marsh Wharton, and Lucy Marsh Breedlove and husband Nick. Other survivors include a bevy of nieces, nephews, godchildren and special friends. The family would like to thank Katy Cuevas for her longtime friendship and care, as well as Angelica Martin, Nancy James and Hospice of East Texas.

Due to Betsy’s love of nature and conservation, she would encourage friends to plant a remembrance tree. If desired, gifts in her memory may be made to the City of Tyler Trees Committee, Betsy’s Garden, 2000 W. Front St., Tyler, TX 75702 or www.cityoftyler.org (http://www.cityoftyler.org/)