Elizabeth F. “Bettie” Gilbert, 81, died peacefully Dec. 17 at her home on Bainbridge Island.

She was born Dec. 31, 1922 in Providence, R.I., the oldest of five children to Arthur and Helen Frazier.

She graduated with honors from Chester High School in Chester, Mass., and then attended the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence.

While there, she had a radio show called “Bettie Buyer” in which she advised folks on cooking and grocery shopping during World War II.

She was married to architect Daniel C.C. Gilbert in 1944 and they and lived in New York City and Scarborough, N.Y.

While raising a family, she bought and sold antiques and eventually opened the Flintlock Farm Antique shop in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.

In 1971 she moved her family to Henniker, N.H., and bought and operated the Colby Hill Inn for five years before becoming the switchboard operator at Concord Hospital.

In 1989 she moved to Albuquerque, N.M., where she worked at New Mexico’s Technical Vocational Institute, assisting hearing and visually impaired students with taking notes during class.

She retired in December 2003, and in 2004 she moved to Bainbridge Island.

Beginning at a very young age she wrote award-winning poetry and fiction. She was a fine painter, sketcher and wood carver. She enjoyed helping others, especially children, bird watching, and walking on the beach.

She also enjoyed traveling, visiting Scotland and other parts of the world.

She is survived by her brother Richard Frazier of Coventry R.I.; sister Marion McNiff of Warwick, R.I.; son Daniel F.F. Gilbert of Wilmot, N.H.; daughter Tina H.C. Gilbert of Bainbridge Island; grandson Aiden Gilbert of Henniker, N.H.; granddaughter, Claire Koutras of Keene, N.H.; and many nieces, nephews and surrogate children.

She was preceded in death by her husband, her son Arthur Gilbert of Concord N.H., and brothers Jack Frazier and Wesley Frazier, both of Providence, R.I.