Born in Westborough, MA, she was the daughter of Ormond T. and Dorothy (Molt) Barr and attended Westborough schools. An avid athlete who still holds the school record for the long toss, she graduated with the class of 1949 and began a career working with animals at a local veterinarian.
She married in 1953 and she founded one of the most successful animal boarding and grooming kennels, Saddle Hill Kennels, which they ran until retiring in 1987. She bred and raised AKC Champion English Springer Spaniels, which became her favorite breed. On the kennel property, she also spent many hours in her vegetable garden and in running a fully self sufficient organic farm, complete with sheep, chickens, pigs, goats, and Hereford steers. The animals were the subject of her many short stories written for publication, in the Hopkinton Area Land Trust’s Newsletter, later in life. The site was conveyed and is now the home of Greyhound Friends, who rescue racing greyhounds for adoption throughout New England.
She was a well known conservationist, who led a well publicized fight to control over development in her beloved Hopkinton, culminating in a town bylaw change victory by special ballot (though this was overturned by the State). She was a founding member of the Hopkinton Area Land Trust (HALT) and worked tirelessly helping to acquire open space parcels from developers, designing trail and land use plans, and writing for the organization’s newsletter. She became frequently quoted in newspapers as other towns sought to control development and growth.
Later in life, she developed a third passion – golf. After beginning golf lessons on her 60th birthday, she became a quick study and joined the Ladies Golf League at Indian Meadows in Westborough. She became the Ladies Champion and held her title for many years well into her 70’s. She enjoyed the company of her friends from golf immensely and loved traveling to play on Cape Cod and New Hampshire, and winning many local “best ball” tournaments with her friends.
Elizabeth “Betty” (Barr) Fitzpatrick, a local voice in town conservation and a lifelong animal and nature lover died Monday, March 30, 2009 at the Metrowest Medical Center in Framingham, after a long illness.