Beth Sweet
May 19, 1926-Feb. 22, 2022
Portola Valley, California
Beth Sweet, beloved wife of Don Sweet for 73 years, passed away peacefully at age 95. In the days leading up to her passing, she was lovingly surrounded by her family. Beth will be remembered for her devotion to Don and their four sons, her longstanding friendships, her warm and welcoming smile, her hospitality, her volunteer work, and her strong sense of standing up for what she believed was right.
Beth was born in Meridian, Mississippi. She was raised in New Orleans with her twin brother, Brunson, by her mother, Elizabeth Greenwald. She attended the Louise S. McGehee School and graduated from Sophie Newcomb Memorial College (Tulane University), where she was in the Chi Omega sorority, with a BA in Sociology.
Beth met Don at a Naval Officers’ ball in New Orleans, where Don was stationed, and Beth was one of the young women serving as a hostess. Theirs was love at first sight. They were married in New Orleans on June 26, 1948. They then moved to Coos Bay, Oregon to start their married life, close to where Don’s large extended family lived.
As a young married couple establishing their new life together in Coos Bay, they made many lifelong friends. There was no television in Coos Bay. Their lives were full of picnics, potluck dinners, dances at the Elks Club, and bridge games with their friends. Beth became active in PEO, and they both were active members of Emmanuel Episcopal Church.
After the family moved to Coos Bay, Beth gave birth to Richard (Dick) the following spring. Tragically, Dick died four years later of childhood leukemia. During this difficult time, Beth and Don’s friendships in Coos Bay grew stronger as these friends surrounded them with love.
Their son, David, was living at the time of Dick’s death. Beth and Don went on to have three more sons. Scott and Stuart were born in Oregon, and after the family moved in 1958 to Marin County, Tom was born.
Beth and Don lived in Marin County for three years and then moved to Atherton in 1961 where the four sons grew up.
Beth and Don loved life on the Mid-Peninsula where they made many new friends and re-established old friendships emanating from Don’s days at Stanford. They continued to enjoy playing bridge and hosting dinner parties with friends. Beth’s ideal was a dinner for eight -- with three other couples where everyone could enjoy cocktails and a delicious dinner, and most importantly, build friendships with each other.
Beth was a devoted mother, ensuring their sons received an excellent education, as well as tending to other aspects of raising a family. Because of Beth, her sons, among other things, had good table manners, didn’t eat too much candy, brushed their teeth every night, took piano lessons, learned to swim and play tennis, had limited TV privileges, didn’t go to any movies that were violent, and had bag lunches -- packed and labeled -- waiting for them each school day morning. She worked very hard to be the best possible mom she could be.
In those days, one couldn’t miss the Sweet family in Disneyland or other vacation spots – Don and the boys wearing matching shirts, Beth wearing a dress – all made by her from the same fabric so it would be harder to lose any of the sons in the crowds.
During this time of her life, Beth was also involved in the Florence Crittenton Home, the Allied Arts Guild, and the Altar Guild at Holy Trinity Church and later at St. Bede’s Church.
Beth and Don’s home was the venue for many wonderful events for family and friends. There were Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, Easter egg hunts in the garden, and Fourth of July barbeques in the back yard. Beth loved their garden and made sure there were always pretty, colorful flowers (any color but lavender) in the flowerbed next to the walkway leading to the front door.
In 1986, with their sons grown and out of the house, Beth and Don moved to Sharon Heights in Menlo Park where they enjoyed creating a new garden on a smaller scale and having neighbors closer by. They also began to travel more extensively, often a relaxing trip to a favorite spot such as Hawaii (especially the Napili Kai Beach Resort) or Carmel, or an adventure through a Stanford trip to another part of the world. Through a friend who spent her childhood summers in Switzerland and later organized travel there with friends, they enjoyed many trips to Switzerland to hike in the Alps.
In 2003, Beth and Don moved to the Sequoias in Portola Valley where they enjoyed socializing with longstanding friends and making new friends.
Beth will be missed by Don and her four surviving sons and daughters-in-law: David (Robin), Scott (Meghan), Stuart (Jacqueline) and Tom (Qi). Also by her grandchildren: Emily Witkop (Adam), Teddy (Erin Kobashigawa), Jeff, Cassandra, and Justin. And her great-granddaughters: Juliet, Grace, and Sophia (Witkop).
There will be a memorial service for Beth on Sunday, May 1, at 2:00 pm at Christ Church, 815 Portola Road, Portola Valley (https://www.ccpvw.org/contact.html). The family asks that all guests be fully vaccinated.
In lieu of flowers, donations honoring Beth Sweet may be made to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (https://www.lls.org/) or the Stanford Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (https://med.stanford.edu/adrc.html).
The family would like to acknowledge the loving care provided to Beth by the Sequoias Health Center staff and the private caregivers from Canopy Home Care, especially Ana, Raschell, Christine, and Maria.
