At 93, she's still learning

WASILLA — If you ask Betty Boyd-Beu what the secret to a long life is, education is key.

In a career spanning six decades, she has been involved in every aspect of pedagogy. The now 93-year-old credits continued learning for the sharpness of her mind apparent behind her silver hair and spry smile.

“You cannot stop learning. There’s always something. I learn something new not every day, but pretty close to it,” she said.

Boyd-Beu started in 1941 with the Army Air Corps Training Division in Washington, D.C. The intent was to offer more educational opportunities to the military personnel on base, she said.

She was transferred to Elmendorf Air Force Base in 1945 to act as the administrator responsible for setting up a similar program in Alaska. The Armed Forces Institute, as it was called, focused on both vocational and technical courses and high school equivalency classes for airmen and soldiers without diplomas.

“We were able to administer the (Graduate Record Examinations). We got a lot of diplomas passed,” Boyd-Beu said.

In 1950, the base started discussions with the University of Alaska. That spring, she said, the base started offering lower-division college classes. Five years later, upper-division courses were included as well, and more than 800 students were enrolled in the various offerings.

When she first moved to Alaska, Boyd-Beu and her first husband homestead 40 acres with more than 1,000 feet of shoreline on the south side of Lake Lucille. She still owns the property.

After her husband died, Boyd-Beu requested to be transferred to the Lower 48 in 1961. A post opened in Louisiana, and she would later move to Tyndall Air Force Base outside of Panama City, Fla.

“The program was all good. I loved being an education officer. The base commanders were great. When I made budget requests, I got every dime I asked for,” she said.

In Florida, Boyd-Beu received a letter saying she was eligible for retirement at the age of 55. She retired with 32 years and eight months of service in 1973.

Sitting on the beach with an umbrella drink waiting for the sunset of life is not Boyd-Beu’s style. Instead of going calmly into retirement, she started teaching classes about retirement — as well as English and History — at Gulf Coast Community College. The long-time educator sent herself back to school for some training, first for her master’s degree in education, then for her advanced master’s degree.

Boyd-Beu’s daughter moved back to the family homestead in 1979. After they built a new house — and let the Wasilla Fire Department use the original cabin for demonstration purposes — they started to urge Boyd-Beu to follow them up.

“This house is a result of that communication. The two-bed, two-bath English Tudor I had in my mind turned into this,” she said, waving her hand at the two story house complete with a room for the pool table she still uses.

When she made it back in 1989, she was 12 credits short of her doctorate degree. She found a program that allowed her to finish her courses through correspondence and wrote her dissertation on the efficacy of GED preparatory classes. She graduated with a doctorate in education when she was 76 years old.

A friend told Boyd-Beu about another widower she knew who was dating again named Ed Beu. Boyd-Beu agreed to go out on a date, and he picked her up in a huge Lincoln wearing a 10-gallon hat, she said.

“Towards the end of dinner, I said ‘Enough about me. Tell me about yourself,’” Boyd-Beu said. “He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded 8-by-11 sheet of paper. It was a copy of his résumé detailing his life.”

The two were married 14 years ago. She was 79, he was a decade younger.

“I robbed the cradle,” she said.

Teaching classes at Mat-Su College, Boyd-Beu noticed a worrying trend. Students would show up for the first day of class and then never return.

“So I thought I would find out why they never came back. They all said they applied for tuition assistance and their application was denied,” she said.

With this in mind, Boyd-Beu and her husband donated $50,000 to the college to set up a trust fund. The interest earned on the money is given out as scholarships, and students can get as much as $2,500 per year to help with tuition.

“It’s a continuos thing. That’s what I’m so happy about,” Boyd-Beu said. “When I die, the fund will still help the students.”

In addition to the college, the couple has been involved with Valley Performing Arts. Boyd-Beu was on the board of directors for 12 years, and another two on the development committee. For their contributions of both money and time, the lobby at the playhouse is named the Beu Lobby. The couple just donated new tables and chairs for this lobby, “so people have something to sit on during intermission,” Boyd-Beu said.

Boyd-Beu retired for good when she was 85. She is still invited to march with the Mat-Su College faculty every graduation, and she still communicates with the Chancellor of the University of Alaska and the College of Fellows.

Looking back on a long life, Boyd-Beu said the one constant that has kept her going is education. She is currently reading a book about how people with personal injuries overcome adversity and live a more fulfilled life. She is returning to Hawaii to see how it has changed since she was stationed there in the 1940s. She is even looking to technology and how it is affecting learning.

“Make it a continuous thing. You always have to learn,” Boyd-Beu said. “With computers and technology developing like it is — glory be, if you are not with it, you are in another world.”

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.