When looking for ways to describe Betty Nee, who died on New Year’s Eve at age 82, a Beach Boys song comes quickly to mind: “Be true to your school.”
A member of the Greenfield High School Class of 1952, Nee helped plan her own graduation and then became the principal’s secretary, a job she held for the next 45 years.
“She was the constant; you depended on her,” said GHS Principal Donna Woodcock, one of a dozen or so principals Nee worked for at the school. “She had a lot of knowledge and history of how things worked.”
“She was a dynamo,” said Ken Fortin, who knew Nee when he was a Greenfield High student and as an employee at the school years later. “She was small in stature, but you went in the office and you knew who was in charge. … Whenever anybody needed something in the office — if you were late for school, or needed dismissal early, or if you were a staff member who needed pens or paper, or to speak with the principal — you pretty much went through Betty most of the time. She knew everything about that school, from head to toe. Outside of her husband and her son, it was her life.”
Nee is credited with having played a big role in creating Greenfield High’s alumni association. She combined her work ethic and pride in her school with an attitude of respect for others, whether it was faculty, staff, students, their families or people who just found themselves walking through those doors.
“She was always welcoming, and she took time to listen to people,” said Angela DeSanty Mass, who first came to know Nee when she was a student and later worked with her as a math teacher. “She was the pulse of Greenfield High School.”
Retirement didn’t change how she felt about the school or her desire to be involved. After the death of her husband in 1999, she returned as a full-time volunteer, for 16 years, handling a number of clerical and scheduling tasks, including the hiring and assigning of substitute teachers. And she was very much connected to the students, making arrangements for class nights, awards ceremonies, open houses, and even measuring students for caps and gowns.
“To me, it’s not volunteering,” Nee said when she was honored as the schools’ volunteer of the year in 2012. “It’s my home away from home. I love it. I would not want to do anything else.”
Nee didn’t just talk about school pride and spirit or the need to give back to her community, they were part of her everyday life. She wanted students and those with whom she worked to share in that dedication to making Greenfield High a great place.
That’s her legacy, and we thank her for it.