Written By: Greg Johnson
Betty Richart of Ann Arbor, a Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member and a devoted golf leader with the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Golf Association of Michigan (GAM), offered trademark zeal, tremendous energy and pure positivity in every encounter.
She passed away Sunday, Oct. 25, leaving behind a storied impact on golf, especially for women’s golf, in Michigan and across the country. She was 103.
“Just tell people they will be better for being involved in the game of golf in some way,” she said on her 100th birthday in August of 2023.
“There’s hope for everybody in golf. It’s a game that can lift you up with one good putt when all about you seems to be going wrong. I say never give up, in golf or in life. I lift my head up and shout, ‘it’s going to be a great day.”
A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church, 1432 Washtenaw Ave. in Ann Arbor, on Nov. 12. A reception will follow at the church.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the F. E. (Bill) and Betty Richart Trust in the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, the Golf Association of Michigan Foundation or to the Frank E. Richart, Jr. Endowment in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan.
Sara Wold, like Richart, a Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member and golf leader, remembers Betty as a friend to all, but also as a pioneer pushing for golf courses to be rated specifically for women, and as the tournament official who wanted to meet the superintendent at every host golf course.
“She had a bond with superintendents I’m sure because her father owned a golf course and made the kids work on it, so she had a special appreciation for owners and superintendents and the work they had to do,” she said.
“She also knew everybody in golf. She was good friends with Peggy Kirk Bell (USGA past president, World Golf Hall of Famer). People were drawn to her. She wasn’t afraid to tell you something could be better, but she found a nice way to say it. She was just exceptional at dealing with people, the rules in golf, with committees, her family, her great grandchildren. She was a Queen of Golf to me and so many other people, but she never acted like she was any better than anybody else.”
Debbie Williams-Hoak, also a member of the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame, former LPGA golfer and current award-winning high school coach, said Betty’s impact on golf and golfers went well beyond being an official.
“When I first started playing, I met her through her daughter and my dear friend, Betsy French,” she said. “Betty taught me so much, helped me and inspired me. She became my adopted grandma, and I owe her so much. I consider myself so lucky and grateful to have had her in my life.”
Betsy French, her daughter, said her brothers John and Willard are fielding calls and condolences from many people in many places.
“Most older people that live to 103, their contemporaries are gone, but she had so many younger friends from golf, and all the other things she was involved in,” French said. “She was so happy when the (U.S. Senior Women’s Open) was at Barton Hills. She was able to watch on television, and she had visits from Mary Jane Heistand (Michigan Golf Hall of Fame member now living in Florida) and Carol Semple Thompson (legendary amateur player from Pennsylvania).”
French said she remembers when her brother John was playing junior golf and playing well, and a mother of another player approached.
“She told my mother that I want my child to play as well as your son,” French said. “My mother told her to come over and volunteer, get involved with golf. That sums up her motto in life. If you want something, get involved, be a part of it and contribute.”
Betty grew up on a golf course in her native Cherry Hill, N.J. Her father, John Wesley Goldthorp, an attorney and banker, spearheaded an effort in 1929 to build Woodcrest Country Club, now known as The Legacy Club at Woodcrest.
“It was during the Great Depression, so mom and her four siblings grew up playing the game and helping run things on the course,” French said. “Everybody in the family played and were successful players. They were actually known in the area and by the media then as “The Golfing Goldthorps.”
First Betty was a player, including playing on the boys’ golf team in high school, and one year on the men’s team at Duke University before she met her husband-to-be, F.E. (Bill) Richart, and transferred to the University of Illinois.
Over the years Betty, who also worked in banking, won club, city and regional titles in multiple states and played in college tournaments and other events competing with legends of the game like Patty Berg, Babe Zaharias and Louise Suggs.
Later, she started officiating golf tournaments for the USGA and GAM, volunteered in course rating and served on the USGA Women’s Committee for 17 years, including three as chairperson. A Barton Hills Country Club member for over 60 years, she also served as chairperson for the U.S. Women’s Open at Indianwood Golf & Country Club in 1989 and was instrumental in Barton Hills hosting the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 1998 and the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur in 2008.
She also volunteered outside of the game, working with the Ann Arbor YMCA, Washtenaw United Way, Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation and others.
In 1999, the USGA bestowed its prestigious Ike Grainger Award to Richart for 25 years of service to the organization. In Michigan, multiple groups and associations honored her for contributions. In 1992, she received the Golf Association of Michigan’s Distinguished Service Award, became an Honorary Governor of the GAM in 1992 and the GAM Women’s Championship trophy is named in her honor.
In 2002 she was inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame where the GAM’s Jeanne Meyers dubbed her the grand lady of golf, and in 2014, she was selected as one of three women to be honored at the Michigan Women’s Golf Association Legacy Celebration. The others were Shirley Spork, a Detroit native and one of the LPGA’s original founders, and Mary Fossum, the first women’s golf coach at Michigan State University.
Following is the text of her obituary.
Elizabeth Richart Obituary
Richart, Elizabeth (Mrs. F. E (Bill))
Ann Arbor, MI
Elizabeth Richart, age 103, died peacefully after a short illness on October 25, 2026, at her home of 64 years.
Elizabeth Norma (Betty) was born August 19, 1923, one of five children of John Wesley and Engeburg (Olsen) Goldthorp. She grew up in Haddonfield, New Jersey at the Woodcrest Country Club, which was built in 1929, designed by William Flynn and owned by her father. The largest barn in South Jersey was part of the property and housed both the golf equipment and a stable of riding horses, all of which required exercise and care. The family grew up learning the game of golf and competing throughout their lifetime. Betty, Jack, Bill, Pat and Jane were known as the “Golfing Goldthorps,” who not only competed but also took part in 9-hole exhibitions for the war effort. They also helped with course maintenance which contributed to Betty’s lifelong appreciation for the Green Superintendent’s role in a golf club. She learned to drive a tractor at age 7 and continued to drive her stick shift Jetta into her late 90’s. Betty played on the Haddonfield High School Boys’ Golf Team (In 2002, Betty returned to her alma mater to receive the HHS Lifetime Achievement Award). She met Lt. Frank Edwin (Bill) Richart when he came out to play Woodcrest C.C. while stationed in the Navy. His score of 69 that afternoon resulted in him being invited to the Woodcrest home for dinner, ping pong and darts and the rest is history!
Betty and Bill were married in 1945 and after being stationed in California, returned to Bill’s hometown of Urbana, Illinois where Betty earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois (having previously attended the University of Pennsylvania and Duke University) while Bill completed his PhD. Bill’s career as a Professor of Civil Engineering took the couple to Harvard University, the University of Florida and finally the University of Michigan in 1962 where they settled. Betty played championship golf, winning over 30 titles in New Jersey, Florida, Illinois and Michigan. She was active in developing junior golf in Gainesville, FL and was a member of the USGA Women’s Rules Committee for over 20 years including two years as Chair. But as much as she loved golf, her family was always #1 to her. She was predeceased by her beloved Bill, husband of almost 50 years, in 1994 and her siblings, Jack, Bill, Pat and Jane. She is survived by sons John (Lori); Willard (Linda); and daughter Betsy (David) French; six grandchildren: Russell (Catherine) French, Emily (Ken) Brakora, Bethany (Peter) Campbell, Kristine (Anthony) Wing, Kelly (Kevin) Moss, Samantha (Steven) Hurbis, William Rose Richart, and 17 great-grandchildren: Liberty, Quinn and Moriah French; Thomas, Walter, Maxwell and Isabel Brakora; Peter Jay III, Grant, Eleanor, Felicity, Penelope and James Campbell; Mackenzie and Lexi Moss; Wesley and Blake Hurbis; cousin Ruth Hirschman Biel and many beloved nieces and nephews around the country.
In 1962, “The Hub”, 2210 Hill Street, was bought by Bill, sight unseen by Betty who was playing in a golf tournament. Betty made the home a welcoming place for all with her warm hospitality and wonderful cooking. She never met a stranger and enjoyed friends of all ages, occupations, and interests whom she met through her involvement with Barton Hills Country Club, Radrick Farms Golf Course, AA City Club, AA Thrift Shop, Ann Arbor Trust bank (Director), AA “Y” (Board member), UofM Faculty Women’s Club, USGA, UWGA, WDGA, and as a long time member of the First Presbyterian Church. Betty’s sense of fun (and a bit of mischief) was balanced by a deep faith that sustained her throughout her life and contributed to her love for people, generous spirit and insistence on living life (as in playing golf) by the rules. She will be greatly missed by her family, community, friends of all ages, and the many students (her “academic family”) that she and Bill nurtured in college and beyond into their professional careers both in the U.S. and in many countries abroad (many of which were travel destinations).
The family would like to extend their extreme thanks to special friends Debi Grybas and Linda Downer who made Mother’s last months so warm and comforting and to all the staff and caregivers of Arbor Hospice and Visiting Angels who were our “angels” when most needed.
A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church on November 12, 2026 at 2:00pm. A reception will immediately follow the service at the First Presbyterian Church (1432 Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104).
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the F. E. (Bill) and Betty Richart Trust in the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, the Golf Association of Michigan Foundation or to the Frank E. Richart, Jr Endowment in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan.
