Elizabeth M. Sanford, 86, died peacefully May 12, 2011 at the University Medical Center at Princeton.


The daughter of Roy L. and Lydia Hartman Miller, 'Betty' was born on May 21, 1924 in Germantown, PA. A graduate of Germantown Friends School, she attended Wilson College and then graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1947. She married Laurence H. Sanford, Jr., known as "Laddie", in 1947 and went on to raise a family of five children, living first in Concord, then Carlisle, MA before moving to Princeton in 1967. She became one of the first residents of Stonebridge at Montgomery in 2004.

Betty enjoyed a strong allegiance to Princeton University through the Class of 1945, her husband's class. She was elected a classmate in 1985 and was currently serving as Class Vice President. She is considered to have been the first woman ever recognized as an honorary member of any Princeton class. Betty was a Board member of the Princeton University McCosh Infirmary and the Mountain Lakes Holding Corporation, and a former member of the Board of Princeton Open Space. She was active in the community as a longstanding member of the Trinity Church Altar Guild, the Contemporary Garden Club, the Nassau Club, the Present Day Club and Springdale Golf Club.


Her love for her family – and their love for her – was a central focus of Betty's life. Known for her warmth, sense of humor and magnanimous spirit, she will be sorely missed. Pre-deceased by her husband and her only brother, John F. Miller, she is survived by her children, Susan M. Sanford, Laurence H. Sanford III, Stephen T. Sanford, Elizabeth H. Sanford and J. Andrew Sanford, and ten grandchildren.


A memorial service will be held at Trinity Church, 33 Mercer Street, Princeton, NJ, 08540 on Friday, May 20, 2011 at 11AM.


In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Trinity Church at the above address.