Elizabeth Burroughs Mann

Elizabeth Burroughs Mann, 93, of Lancaster died Friday, December 28, 2012, at Homestead Village. The firstborn child of the late Arthur and Emma Mershon Burroughs, Betty was born in Montclair, NJ, but soon moved to nearby Cranbury, where she spent her childhood. Because her young sister was born mentally handicapped, Betty learned compassion early and well, generously contributing time and resources later in life to the Special Olympics and the Susquehanna Association for the Blind. Music played a prominent role in her growing up. Her father, an accomplished pianist, fostered his daughter’s love of Chopin, the Boston Pops and later affection for Lawrence Welk. She was a generous and faithful supporter of the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, Fulton Opera House, Lancaster County Conservancy, Pennsylvania Academy of Music, and the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design. Betty lived in Lancaster’s cultural community. After finishing with high honors from Highstown High School, Betty attended Smith College in Northampton, MA, where she majored in history. It was during her sophomore year that she met a handsome Yalie and Lancaster native William Hess Mann, who promptly became the great love of her life. The couple was married in Miami shortly before Bill’s Army Air Corps unit went to Europe. After the war, Betty and Bill settled in Lancaster, where Bill practiced law and Betty raised their three children: Anthony, Michael and Martha. Though Betty never abandoned her Cranbury ties, she embraced life in Lancaster, her husband’s extended family and her responsibilities as a wife and mother. A member of First Presbyterian Church, Betty grew sustenance from faith and, following the death of her husband, served actively to grow and sustain programs in which she and Bill believed. From 1981 until June 2002, Betty served as Secretary of Lancaster County Motors, a family business she would bequeath to her children. She is survived by her elder son Anthony Mann and his wife Caroline of Somerville, MA; Michael Mann and his wife Fern of Philadelphia; and Martha Hess and her husband Aaron of Bloomfield, CT; beloved grandchildren George Mann, Ian Mann, Aaron Hess, and Anna Barresi, as well as two great-grandchildren, Sylvia Barresi and Isaac Mann. Family and friends are respectfully invited to attend Betty’s Celebration of Life Memorial Service at First Presbyterian Church, 140 East Orange St., Lancaster, at 11:00 a.m. Monday, January 14, 2012, with The Reverend Dr. Donald Hackett officiating. The family will greet friends and relatives at the church from 10:30 a.m. until the time of service. Interment will be in First Presbyterian Memorial Garden. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Betty’s name to Hospice and Community Care, PO Box 4125, Lancaster PA 17604-4125.

Elizabeth Burroughs Mann

December 30, 2012