Betty Louise Munford lived a life full of persistent achievements in adventurous endeavors. Born in Louisville, KY, on March 16, 1934, she would go on to live in six different states across the country, as well as in England and Bermuda. Betty was born to an African-American mother, Louise Harris, and an Irish father. With her father absent, her mother made the ultimate sacrifice by asking a Black couple to raise her daughter. Jerome E. McDonald, a pharmacist, and Cleoda Mason McDonald, a teacher, warmly welcomed Betty into their lives when she was about two years old. Together, they raised her in Prospect, Louisville, with no children of their own. Cleoda taught Betty the importance of hard work, survival skills, and community service. She imparted knowledge of sewing, canning, 4-H Club activities, and how to live off the land, while also helping those in need. Jerome, who affectionately nicknamed her "Boop" after the popular animated African American flapper of the time, taught her to fish, hunt, garden, and manage farm life, including milking cows twice daily. The church was always an integral part of Betty's life. She grew up attending Harrods Creek Baptist Church and a nearby two-room schoolhouse. Throughout her life, she continued to attend various religious groups wherever she lived. Racial segregation was a significant aspect of her upbringing. As a child, Betty had to travel by bus past white schools to attend Black schools for junior and senior high school. She graduated from Central High School in 1951 and immediately entered the University of Louisville, where she completed her degree in just three years. Betty aspired to be a newspaper reporter but was told by The Courier-Journal that she had two strikes against her: she was a woman and Black. Undeterred, she began graduate studies at the University of Louisville and returned to teach at Central High School for a year before marrying Lewis C. Olive Jr., a West Point graduate and Air Force pilot, in 1956. The couple, who moved frequently due to Lewis's military career, had four children: Tasha Louise, Lew Kevin, Elayna Rose, and Anthony Cortez. Betty taught in Lincoln, Nebraska, for a few years before the Air Force transferred the family to England in 1963, where they lived for three years. During this time, of 1 3 she became active in Anglo-American relations and received an award at the U.S. Embassy in London in 1966. After returning to Kansas in 1966, Betty taught at Hoyt High School for two years before becoming an education specialist with the Kansas Commission on Civil Rights in Topeka. There, she coordinated seminars with the Menninger Foundation for educational leaders and completed graduate studies at Washburn University. In 1968, she had the opportunity to meet Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Manhattan, Kansas, shortly before his assassination. In 1970, after the family moved to Teaneck, NJ, Betty divorced Lewis and continued to raise their children. She was hired by Dr. Dorothy Height, Director of the National YWCA Center for Racial Justice in NYC, where she worked for eight years developing materials and training for over 400 YWCAs on their newly adopted imperative: "The elimination of racism wherever it exists and by any means necessary." In 1972, she received the Teaneck, NJ Community Relations Award. After moving to New York City in 1979, Betty attended Community Church and also became an active participant in the Unitarian Universalist Association in Boston. Next Betty directed NY Project Equality in Brooklyn, where she helped sponsoring religious organizations monitor hiring and purchasing practices of their business partners. Notable fundraising speakers included Governor Mario Cuomo and Congressman Andrew Young. The dais included Bayard Rustin and A. Philip Randolph. Then as Director of the NY/NJ Minority Purchasing Council, Betty trained corporate buyers on the value of using minority-owned businesses, utilizing the Try Us – National Minority Business Directory that listed 14,000 minority business enterprises. She received numerous awards for her racial justice efforts from the U.S. Department of Commerce under Presidents Reagan and Clinton. In 1984, shortly after marrying Neville Darrell, a retired Bermudian policeman, Betty was approached by Pepsi-Cola to develop a corporate minority purchasing program. She trained Pepsi managers on locating and working with Black, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American-owned businesses. In 1993, she was recognized by President George H.W. Bush at the White House for Pepsi-Cola's $800 million spending with minority-owned businesses over ten years. of 2 3 Also in 1993, Betty was invited by the Russian Ministry of Trade and Material Resources to join a 17-day U.S. Purchasing Management Delegation. They visited manufacturing businesses and collective farms in Kiev, Ukraine; Minsk, Belarus; Helsinki, Finland; as well as cultural sites in Moscow and St. Petersburg. After retirement from Pepsi-Cola in 1994, Betty remarried to Thyriss Munford, a longtime friend, and moved to New Albany, IN. They traveled extensively, visiting 14 countries, including Egypt (twice), China, South Korea, Japan, Belgium, Germany, France, Greece, Turkey, and many RV trips across the U.S. She visited all but four U.S. states and even met retired President Jimmy Carter during an island trip. Betty was a survivor of breast cancer in 2000. Betty later moved to Cox's Creek, KY, where she continued her 10-year book club participation and filed for divorce in 2011. She then relocated to Newburgh, NY, where she volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, the Red Cross, and supported the homeless, ex-convicts, and Unitarian activities, where she met Pete Seeger. A loyal friend and motivator, Betty was always prepared with a plan to succeed in any task or goal. In 2017, she moved to Port Charlotte, FL, where she wanted to be remembered as a nature lover who trusted God as her strength. Her motto was "To thine own self be true," and her favorite songs were "We Are Standing on Hallowed Ground," "Walk a Mile in My Shoes," "Imagine," and "Bridge Over Troubled Water." Betty maintained annual memberships with Habitat for Humanity, ACLU, NAACP, Southern Poverty Law Center, Tuskegee Airmen Museum, and Doctors Without Borders. She was preceded in death by her parents, Jerome in 1984 and Cleoda in 1986. Betty is survived by her daughter Tasha Wiesing, granddaughter Alana, and son Anthony Olive, all in AZ; daughter Elayna Friend and grandsons Sebastian in FL and Dalton in NY. She had no contact with her son Lew Olive, previously in CA, since 2008. In honor of Betty, donations can be made to Habitat for Humanity and organizations supporting the homeless.