Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Wilson; Supporter of Arts, Children
Elizabeth “Betty” Johnson Wilson, philanthropist and fund-raiser for the arts and for programs benefiting children, has died. She was 79.
Wilson, the wife of former ambassador to the Vatican William A. Wilson, died Tuesday at the UCLA Medical Center after a stroke.
The popular hostess accompanied her husband to Rome in 1981 when President Ronald Reagan named him as the nation’s first ambassador to the Vatican. Ambassador Wilson was a longtime member of Reagan’s “kitchen cabinet” of informal advisors and had served as trustee of Reagan’s finances. The Wilsons socialized regularly with Ronald and Nancy Reagan for several decades.
Known for her taste and for her ability as an international hostess, Wilson redecorated the embassy in Rome in airy California style. She placed a permanent bronze plaque in the floor of a sunny, glass-enclosed porch, declaring it the “Nancy Reagan Room.”
Wilson was a founder and board member of the Patron of the Arts of the Vatican Museum and received the Gold Medal of the Italian Red Cross.
Elizabeth Anne Johnson was a Los Angeles native and daughter of Pennzoil co-founder Luther Johnson. She was educated at Marymount High School and Stanford University.
She served on the executive board of the Blue Ribbon 400, a support group for the Los Angeles County Music Center, and on the board of regents of St. John’s Hospital Foundation. She was also a regent of Loyola Marymount University and member of the Huntington Library board of overseers.
Wilson’s activities included co-chairing such fund-raising events as the 1989 Magic Crystal Ball, which amassed $1 million in a single evening for St. John’s Hospital and Health Center.
In addition to her husband, Wilson is survived by two daughters, Marcia Lou Hobbs of Los Angeles and Anne Marie Wilson of Mexico; a brother, Leland Johnson of Los Angeles; six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
A rosary is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday in St. Timothy’s Catholic Church, 10425 W. Pico Blvd. Services will be 11 a.m. Friday, with interment in Holy Cross Cemetery.
Honorary pallbearers include Reagan, Ambassador Walter Annenberg, Armand Deutsch, Earl Jorgensen, Leland Johnson, Richard Johnson, Thomas Jones, Ricardo Montalban, Diego Redo, Henry Singleton, Thomas Trainer and Flaez Stefano, current ambassador to the Vatican from Slovenia.
The family has asked that any memorial contributions be made to St. John’s Hospital Foundation Health Center, 1328 2nd St., Santa Monica, Calif. 90404.