Associate Librarian Emerita Elizabeth “Betty” Nibley passed away on March 5 after a year and a half long battle with cancer.
According to a memorandum sent by Mary L. Clark, the Dean of Academic Affairs and Senior Vice Provost, Nibley was born in Washington D.C. and spent many of her childhood years traveling because her father was a U.S. Naval Officer. She was at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese bombs were dropped, according to her obituary in the Washington Post.
After receiving a Bachelor’s degree from George Washington University and her Master’s degree from the University of Maryland, Nibley served as the librarian at St. Alban’s School and George Washington University. She took over the post at AU in 1988 and became a tenured professor.
During her time at AU, Nibley helped to build the library’s collections of Anthropology and Education references and move the Curriculum Materials Center from the School of Education to the library. She retired from the University in January 2001.
Nibley met her future husband, Owen Smoot “Pete” Nibley, in the fifth grade, but they didn’t reconnect until many years later. They were married for 32 years before he passed away in 1982. She is survived by her three sons, three daughters-in-law and eight grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held for Nibley on Friday, March 11 at Knollwood Military Retirement Residence for Knollwood residents and family only. An open memorial service will be held at a later date.
