In Memory of Betsy Hunter

Dear friends and family,

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our dear Mom/Grandma, Betsy Hunter, on Monday, June 27th. Though she was battling cancer, she deeply appreciated and enjoyed all the visits, phone calls, and cards she received in the last six months.

Elizabeth Louise Drapcho was born on July 29, 1949 to Emro Joseph Drapcho and Louise Martha Luckovich in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. She was the second born of six siblings: Judy, Barbara, Rosemary, Marilyn, Nancy and Donald. Elizabeth, who became known as Betsy very early on, went to Saint John’s the Evangelist Parochial School in grades 1-8, where she was taught by the Order of the Sacred Heart nuns. She graduated from Bellefonte Senior High School in 1967.

Betsy went to Strayer Business College in Baltimore, Maryland, where she earned an associate’s degree in 1969. In the summer of 1970, Betsy met the Unification Church while visiting her former roommate from Strayer. From 1971 to 1975, Betsy worked as the secretary to two Presidents of the Unification Church of America, Farley Jones and Neil Salonen. As an executive secretary in the nascent Unification Church, Betsy frequently traveled with Reverend Moon on his speaking tours, often eating meals with him at fine dining establishments like Pizza Hut and McDonald’s.

On February 8, 1975, Elizabeth was Blessed in Marriage to Richard Read Hunter in Seoul, South Korea. Shortly afterward, Betsy traveled to Jamaica as a foreign missionary where she spent a year teaching reading, typing and business psychology at Duff’s Business College for women. While she was there, she organized a field trip for her students to have high tea with the Governor General of Jamaica.

Betsy returned to the states in 1976 and started working for a law firm in Washington, DC. Two years later her first son, David, was born in Annandale, Virginia. Five years later, her second son, Nathan, was born.

After the birth of her children, Betsy spent the next three and a half decades supporting church businesses and organizations such as the Universal Ballet Academy, The Washington Times, and the Women’s Federation for World Peace. She was known to be extremely professional, a proficient and efficient task manager, and a reliable assistant in every job she held. Toward the end of her life, Betsy helped longtime family friends Dan and Chris Stein build a successful business, the Silver River Property Management Company, where she stayed until her retirement in 2021.

Betsy was known to be loving, compassionate, generous, dedicated, devoted… and fiercely stubborn. Perhaps it was these qualities that gave her the strength and courage to make a success out of an often difficult marriage, and raise two sons who, at times, caused her a lot of grief. Betsy’s children, David and Nathan, were her pride and joy. Despite their difficulties as teenagers and young adults, they both inherited her best qualities… and her stubbornness. In her final years, her favorite pastime was doting on her grandchildren, David and Annalise. She especially enjoyed FaceTime calls, and playing board games during their visits. Betsy also felt a deep kinship with her siblings, and had hoped to return to her hometown to spend her twilight years closer to her sisters.

Betsy’s son Nathan tragically passed in 2017, and her husband Rick followed seven months later. She is survived by her son David, her daughter in law Mitsuru, her grandchildren, David and Annalise, and her six siblings. Elizabeth Louise Drapcho Hunter will be remembered as a loving sister, a devoted member of her faith community, and beloved wife, mother, and Grandma.

All donations will go towards costs associated with funeral services. We sincerely appreciate all your love and support.