Elizabeth (Griffin) Casarino of Wilmington, known to all as Betsy, age 83, passed away on May 23 after a brief illness.
Betsy grew up in Wethersfield, Connecticut and graduated from the College of New Rochelle in New York. She attended Catholic University in Washington, DC for graduate studies in psychology. She resided in Wilmington since the late 1960’s.
Betsy worked for many years as an office manager for her husband’s law practice. She volunteered in the Brandywine High School office while her children were enrolled and came to know many of their friends and classmates. She also sat on the board of Sojourners’ Place, an organization dedicated to helping homeless men and women.
Betsy was a voracious reader, going through several books a week. She loved to garden and was happiest working in her yard or relaxing on her porch, enjoying the fruits of her labor. Betsy traveled all around the United States and Europe, accompanied by her husband and some of her many friends. She was a student at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Delaware.
Betsy was known for her intelligence and curiosity, but even more for her kindness, generosity, and sense of justice. She was a second mother to all of her children’s friends. She will be remembered for her grace, warmth, and the welcoming hand she extended to everyone.
She is survived by her husband of 59 years, Stephen Casarino; her daughter, Corinne Casarino of Boston; her son, Matthew Casarino and his partner Jill Knapp, of Wilmington; her sister, Kate DiBattista (Fred) of Simsbury, Connecticut; her sister-in-law, Suzanne Casarino; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Thomas and Margaret Griffin, and brother, Gregory Griffin.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 3 at St. Mary Magdalen Church at 7 Sharpley Road in Wilmington. Visitation will begin at 10:00 a.m. and conclude at 11:20 a.m. with a eulogy prior to Mass. Interment at All Saints Cemetery will follow. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to Sojourners’ Place or Habitat for Humanity in Betsy’s name.
