Elisabeth Palmedo led a long, adventurous and charmed life, and experienced a very peaceful death on Feb. 20.
Her mother, Maria Williams Sheerin, was from a Richmond family which preceded the Founding Fathers of Virginia. Betsy was proud to be a “direct descendent of George Washington’s sister.” Betsy’s father, the Rev. Charles Sheerin, was an Episcopal minister born in Pittsburgh to an Irish family that had recently immigrated from Scotland. Her father was loved by everyone and known for joyously playing Irish songs on the piano’s black keys.
Betsy was the youngest child of three, born Feb. 25, 1935. Her brother Charles came first, then her sister Maria. Betsy arrived six years later. When Betsy was only 13 years old, her father’s life was cut short by a heart attack at age 50.
She began cultivating her talent in singing, especially classical operatic music. She graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston in 1960 and met her future husband, Phil Palmedo, during her time there. They married in 1961 and would live in Paris, then on Long Island with sons Chris and Lawrence, in Shoreham, later Setauket and finally Head of the Harbor.
In 1976 Elisabeth dazzled a Carnegie Recital Hall audience with her New York debut. She performed a challenging program by Purcell, Schubert, Duparc and others. The New York Times called out the “clear, pure top” of her voice and noted that “the more a song asked of her the more she brought to it.”
Thanks to her husband, Betsy was able to travel the world, which she embraced with enthusiasm. This included adventures in Indonesia, Peru, South Africa and Kenya, where the family found itself in the middle of a military coup in Nairobi. Her harrowing account was later published in an interview with the Three Village Herald.
In the early 1980s, she and a group of classically trained musicians launched the North Shore Pro Musica. As her close friend and collaborator Olga Zilboorg commented in a newspaper profile: ‘’People used to think that just because artists were local they had to be something less than first-class professionals.’’ But the Pro Musica dispelled that misconception by putting on world-class concerts throughout its 40-year run. Along with being the co-founder, Betsy served as president, treasurer and whatever else needed done.
She performed in many other ensembles, such as the Galatia Trio, which staged a landmark concert at the Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park in New Hampshire. More recently, Elisabeth enjoyed working with the Lark Trio, with her dear friends Bonnie Thivierge and Ann Jupp.
Elisabeth was dedicated to promoting modern and contemporary composers, especially her friends Jack Lessard and Willard Roosevelt. These works were challenging, but she successfully dedicated herself to interpreting and performing serious classical music with eagerness and enthusiasm.
Her multitude of students have included young talents on their way to conservatory, gray-haired professionals seeking to master show tunes and all personalities in between. Her recitals featured a range of artistic expression and were always joyous occasions.
Betsy spent great effort ensuring that the musicians she worked with were well paid. She also would not hesitate to offer visiting artists dinner and a room to sleep overnight. She certainly enjoyed planning and hosting parties, including summer jazz soirees that featured her grandson Tree on trumpet.
She was blessed with bountiful friends, some of her closest being her niece Maria and “sister cousins” Penelope and Mary Page. Also, her Liberal Ladies Luncheon group, the Nissequogue Beach Club community, friends from the North Suffolk Garden Club, her chums from Boston and over the decades a steady stream of wild and crazy musicians who helped underscore the undeniable fact that Elisabeth was an artist at her heart and soul.
Her final days were spent in the company of Phil, her beloved husband of 63 years, her infinitely loyal hound dog Brogan and her invaluable caretaker Sol Starcic.
A memorial service and celebration of life will be held on Sunday, April 7, at 4 p.m. at St. James Episcopal Church, 490 N. Country Road, St. James. Reception to follow.
Family members request nothing more than to reflect on her enthusiasm for life and the arts, but she would most certainly have approved a donation in her memory to the Hudson Peconic chapter of Planned Parenthood Inc. at www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-hudson-peconic.
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