Elisabeth Anne “Betty” Pennington

Elisabeth Anne “Betty” Pennington, Ed.D, R.N., 78, of Mattapoisett died July 26, 2020 at Charlton Memorial Hospital.

            Born February 3, 1942 in Cambridge Massachusetts. Daughter of the late Frank and Mary (Galera) Pennington and sister of the late Frank Pennington, Jr. and Kathleen Pennington.

            Dr. Pennington graduated from Somerville High School and the Lawrence Memorial Hospital School of Nursing. She received her BSN from Boston University and her M.Ed. and Ed.D. from Teachers College Columbia University.

            During her clinical career Dr. Pennington specialized in critical care nursing with a special focus on cardiac care. She worked with Dr. Paul Zoll at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston on his cardiac research unit. She was a critical care and emergency room supervisor at Saint Luke’s Hospital, New York while pursuing her degrees.

            Dr. Pennington began her academic career as an Assistant Professor at City College of New York teaching adult health nursing and clinical supervision of students in the intensive care units of Mount Sinai Hospital. She then joined the National League of Nursing staff as an educational consultant. She consulted on curriculum design, clinical teaching strategies, and accreditation requirements for schools of nursing nationally and internationally.

            She enjoyed that position but after a few years found she missed the academic and clinical environment and became the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Nursing Education at The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She eventually took on responsibilities for the Masters and Doctoral programs and was named Associate Dean for Nursing Education.

            In 1993 Dean Pennington was appointed Dean and Professor of the College of Nursing at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

            Dr. Pennington was a member of many professional organizations, including Sigma Theta Tau. She published a number of articles related to clinical nursing as well as nursing education. Dr. Pennington served on the Board of Trustees of Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, The Greater New Bedford Community Health Center, and Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River.

            She retired from UMD in 2004.

            Since that time she was active in the community. She served on the Town of Mattapoisett Finance Committee, the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Elderly of Mattapoisett and the Mattapoisett Historical Society. She was an active volunteer at the New Bedford Whaling National Park where she delighted in introducing all of the beauty and historical features of New Bedford and the surrounding area to visitors.

            She is survived by her nephews, Gregory Pennington and Jonathan Pennington and his wife Ronda all of Lowell; cousins, Susan Calabro and her partner Joanna Holmes and their children, Aidan and Catherine of Plymouth and Sharon Cloran and her children Madelyn and Olivia of Newton.

            Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, July 31st at 11 am in St. Anthony’s Church, 22 Barstow St. Mattapoisett. Burial will follow in Mt. Auburn Cemetery. Visiting hours Thursday, July 30th from 4-8 pm at the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd., Route 6, Mattapoisett. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.