A dedicated volunteer to health, political, and environmental organizations, Betty F. Kimball of Brooklyn, Connecticut died on Monday, July 7, 2014.

Mrs. Kimball was born to Madeline and Donald Farrell on Jan. 13, 1931 in Syracuse, New York and grew up in Chittenango, where her father owned Hotel Chittenango.

“She earned her nursing degree from Syracuse General Hospital and was very proud to be a nurse,” her family wrote in a tribute.

Mrs. Kimball was married to Kenneth Robie Kimball Jr. in August of 1952. Mr. and Mrs. Kimball lived in Altamont for many years, and also lived in Punta Gorda, Florida; Wellfleet, Massachusetts; and Belfast, Maine.

“Betty was deeply committed to helping others and to being part of movements that resulted in change,” her family wrote.

During her years in Altamont, while her husband was the principal first at Guilderland Junior High School and then at Farnsworth Middle School, she was a nurse at Cobb Memorial School, a school for the developmentally disabled that was near their 104-acre property on the Helderberg escarpment.

Mrs. Kimball was active in United Presbyterian Women, American Red Cross, Girl Scouts, and many other organizations.

In 1975, Mrs. Kimball, her husband, and their daughter Kay spent a year in Karori, New Zealand, where Mr. Kimball was on sabbatical as a teacher at Wellington Teachers’ College.

After her husband retired, Mrs. Kimball was president of the League of Women Voters in Punta Gorda, Florida, and was appointed by the Florida governor as an ombudsman for long term care. She also served as a Charter Review Commission member for Charlotte County.

While in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, Mrs. Kimball served on the Board of Health and was involved with the Council on Aging, Meals on Wheels, and environmental groups. While in Belfast, Maine, she was the activities coordinator for Penobscot Shores, the community where she and her husband lived.

“Betty would never describe herself as an adventurer,” her family wrote, “but she served others, canoed, hiked, and sailed in many places of which others would be in awe.”

“She was a wonderful role model to her children,” the tribute continued, “and the family has many happy memories of outdoor adventures, travels near and far, and the pursuit of observing and being fully present in the natural world.”

She is survived by her son, Kenneth Robie Kimball III, and his partner, Suzann Shaw, of Wappingers Falls, New York; her granddaughter, Kelley Kimball Jozwiakowski, and her husband, Greg, of Charlotte, North Carolina; her daughter, Kay Kimball Gruder, and her husband, Jonathan C. Audette; and her granddaughter, Galina Gruder, all of Woodstock, Connecticut.

Mrs. Kimball’s husband died before her.

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