PORTSMOUTH--Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Callahan died peacefully December 27, 2024. She was born January 16, 1926 to Edmond Wilton Langton and Mary Carty Langton in Richmond, Virginia, but was raised in her mother's ancestral home on Middle Street in Portsmouth. Betty was the widow of Neil Callahan, M.D., whose office she managed. She was also predeceased by her brother, George H. Langton, and a stepson Neil Wilson Callahan. Her beloved younger sister, Nancy Langton Widener, died two days after Betty's passing, in Jacksonville, Florida. Betty graduated from St. Joseph's Academy in 1942, a forerunner of St. Paul/Portsmouth Catholic High School.  She also attended the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary.

Betty had a wonderful smile for everyone and was known for her kindness.  She befriended and supported ethnic and racial minorities and those who came to our community from foreign shores. She held the hands of the dying and visited the sick and infirm.  During inclement weather, she gave rides to people (usually elderly) getting drenched at bus stops. When a patient of Dr. Callahan's was too ill to pick up her medicine, Betty herself took it to the lady's home in the former housing project known as Jeffrey Wilson. Other charitable, often courageous deeds are too numerous to recite.

For over 40 years Betty was the liaison between St. Paul Catholic Church and Oasis Social Ministry. Among other activities, Oasis feeds around 280 people each day. With the money the good people at St. Paul's contributed, she regularly bought food in large quantities and delivered it to Oasis.

Betty despised segregation. Her son's first memory of a haircut, in the early 1950s, was at an African American barber shop in Portsmouth. Around 1964 Dr. Callahan's office had an opening for a medical assistant. Betty strongly recommended Marian Green, an elevator operator at the Professional Building and an African American. The ever-gracious Mrs. Green was concerned her presence would cause Dr. Callahan to lose patients. After he assured her that would not be a consideration, Mrs. Green accepted the position, and Dr. Callahan's office became the first medical practice—and probably the first professional office—in Portsmouth to have an integrated staff.

Betty was a member of the Portsmouth Medical Auxiliary and a member of St. Paul Catholic Church. She served on her parish's financial committee for many years, and also as a docent.

She is survived by her son, Gregory M. Pomije of Portsmouth; her two grandsons, Edward J. Pomije of Portsmouth and Langton V. Pomije, Langton's wife Jordan and her daughter Lexi Leonard, and her great-grandson, Henry Lane Pomije, all of Arab, Alabama; two nieces, Mary Jo Tan (Takeo) and Frances Christian (Edwin); two nephews, Mark S. Widener (Barbara) and Daniel M. Widener (Nancy), and their families; and her stepdaughter, Kathy C. Callahan.

The family wishes to thank the following: the staff at Harbor's Edge Retirement Community for the loving care they gave Betty for almost three years; Edna Addison, Betty's housekeeper turned caregiver turned best friend, for her years of devotion; Neighbors Barbara Vidarte and her daughter, Nancy Vidarte, and fellow parishioner John Shine, for their extraordinary support they gave Betty while she was at Harbor's Edge; and Betty's neighbors in the Glenshellah neighborhood for the assistance they gave her during her later years.

The family will receive friends from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, January 7, 2025 at Foster Funeral Home, 1926 High Street, Portsmouth. A Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, January 8, at St. Paul Catholic Church, 522 High St, Portsmouth.  Burial will immediately follow at Oak Grove Cemetery. A reception will be held at the Church of Resurrection, 3501 Cedar Ln., Portsmouth, VA 23703 following the burial. Those unable to attend the funeral are welcome to attend the reception.

Memorial donations may be made to Oasis Social Ministry, 800 Williamsburg Ave., Portsmouth, VA 23704 or to St. Paul Catholic Church Building Fund c/o Church of the Resurrection. Betty's great-grandfather James O'Rourke was on the building committee for St. Paul Church, which was completed in 1905 and which remains a gift to Portsmouth. Condolences may be registered at BWFosterFuneralHome.com.