Mary Elizabeth “Betsy” Bidelman Meredith, 84, of Quakertown, died Sept. 27, 2020, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. She was the wife of Charles “Charlie” Meredith III, former owner and publisher of the East Penn Press. While he owned the Press, Betsy often helped with layout.

Born in Kobe, Japan, she was a daughter of the late Charles “Chuck” Reynell and Katherine “Kay” Bidelman. Her father worked for General Motors. They left Japan shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor and settled in Buckingham Township, Bucks County.

She attended the Solebury School and she would later serve as a trustee there. While in high school, she had a part-time job at the Bucks County Playhouse, where a lifelong love of theater was born. After graduation, she matriculated at Endicott College in Massachusetts.

After moving to Philadelphia, she served as a medical secretary at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where she met her husband. Charlie nicknamed his bride “Mighty Betsy,” because she was a force of nature.

She was involved with the Penn Foundation (for Behavioral Health) and was president of the Quakertown Woman’s Club. She was part of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Human Rights Campaign and Planned Parenthood. She and her lifelong friend, Marcia Detweiler, started Security and Factfinding in Quakertown. She was part of a woman’s book club for 50 years and her hobbies included knitting, needlepoint and gardening. She loved to travel and was an avid tennis player and golfer.

Gifted musically, she was an excellent piano player. She and her husband sang with choruses around the world, including the Philadelphia Singers at the Kimmel Center and Carnegie Hall, Westminster Cathedral and the Salzburg Cathedral.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by daughters, Anne and Catherine and a son, Ty; grandchildren, Grace and Charles “Quint” V; niece, Deb Rhodes and nephews, Jeb, Jeremy and Mike Bouis and their children. She was predeceased by a sister, Barbara.

Contributions may be made in her name to Planned Parenthood.

A future memorial service will be announced for April 2021.