Hà Giang/Người Việt
SEATTLE, Washington (NV) – Betty Tisdale, known by many as ‘Angel of Saigon’, evacuated 219 orphans from Saigon, Vietnam in late April 1975, died at her home in Seattle, Washington, on Wednesday, at age of 92.
Through Facebook messaging, Mai Lara Tisdale, Betty Tisdale’s first adopted daughter, shared the bad news with Nguoi Viet Daily News in a brief statement: “Our mom passed away peacefully, last night with her 6 children surrounding her last night.”
Bà Betty Tisdale (trái) cùng người thân xem lại cuốn album về các cô nhi Việt Nam tại nhà riêng. (Hình: trang Facebook HALO)
Lien Tisdale Titus, the adopted daughter who had accompanied her mother to the ‘meet the Vietnamese American community’ event at Nguoi Viet Daily News on April 30th, 2010, wrote in an email that her mom passed away peacefully, surrounded by her children and her beloved cat, Connor.
“Memorial service will be announced, and the family predict it will be at the end of September. If folks would like to recognize her, we are asking for people to give to her legacy, HALO (www.bettytisdale.com).” wrote Lien Tisdale Titus.
Prior to 1975, Betty Tisdale traveled to Vietnam every year for 14 years, working as a volunteer, to help An Lac orphanage. She also adopted 5 orphan girls from An Lac and raised them as her daughters. Coming from humble family circumstances, Betty Tisdale was considered by many as an ordinary woman who can achieve the extra-ordinaries.
On April 12, 1975, while the Vietnamese communists are closing in on Saigon, thanks to her courage, determination, kindness, compassion, love, and the uncanny ability to get things done, Betty Tisdale overcame many challenges and was able to take 219 children from An Lac orphanage out of Vietnam and put them on a plane to the United States. Betty Tisdale and her husband spent $21,000 of their own money to pay for the flight to take the orphans from Los Angeles to Fort Banning to find adoptive parents. All of the children were taken care of by Tressler Lutheran Agency and were able to find adoptive parents within a month.
Despite old age and failing health, through HALO – Helping and Loving Orphans, Betty Tisdale, continued to raise fund and ask for donated gifts to send to orphans around the world, until her last day.
Lien Tisdale Titus said that her mom’s lifelong wish is that not one single orphan will be abandoned, and being without loving care.
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