Elizabeth "Betsy" Spurr

Elizabeth Spurr ObituaryObituary published on Legacy.com by Legacy Funeral Home-Heritage Chapel at Angelus on Mar. 10, 2026.Beloved mother, grandmother, sister, and aunt, Elizabeth (Betsy) Hatch Spurr, of Anchorage, Alaska, passed away on February 23, 2026, at age 87. Her parting words to her children gathered around her were, "I love you."Betsy graduated from Centenary College for Women, New Jersey, in 1958 with an associate degree in early childhood education. She was a young teacher at Green Acres Day School in Waltham, Massachusetts, where she was heavily influenced by the founder Grace Mitchell. She went on to teach preschool in Anchorage, Alaska, for almost three decades. After retiring, she volunteered in her grandchildren's classrooms.As in the beginning, so at the end she was the consummate teacher. She loved books, especially those for young children from which her children, grandchildren, and preschoolers benefited greatly. It was not all that surprising then, when in her waning days she relived memories of instructing her young charges to stack their books and tidy up.Betsy was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1938. Her family later moved to Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts. She met her future husband, Robert Lyon Spurr, also of Wellesley Hills, at a dance at Norwich University in Vermont. They spent their early married life in Boston at their beloved apartment on "The Fenway." In 1965, they moved to Alaska, driving from Boston to Anchorage via the Alaska Canadian Highway. They lived in Alaska for the rest of their lives.Betsy leaves behind her children, Tricia (Spurr) Thompson and husband Dave, Judi (Spurr) Kopsack and husband Lance, and Doug Spurr; grandchildren, Lyon Kopsack, Jocelyn (Kopsack) Keffalos and husband Hunter, Marcus Thompson, Alyson (Kopsack) Amos and husband Daniel, and Brooklyn Kopsack; her sister Carolyn (Hatch) Wilde, and many other relatives. She was predeceased by her husband of 36 years, Robert Lyon Spurr and her sister Nancy (Hatch) Dennison. Betsy also leaves behind her beloved cats, Sassy and Cassy who brought her endless comfort.In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Anchorage Imagination Library, a program of Best Beginnings Alaska.To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.