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When the war was over, Betty was discharged from the Marines with the rank of corporal. She qualified for the GI bill and back in Pennsylvania, she went to Allegheny College.

From College To Work And Nuclear Testing

She graduated in three and a half years, in 1949, with a BA in literature. She worked for several years as a secretary at the University of Pittsburgh’s Medical School and then moved to Los Angeles to a similar posting at UCLA’s med school. The department she was in was the Laboratories of Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Biology, Division of Environmental Radiation.

There, Betty’s work extended beyond the office setting.

One of the nuclear blasts in the Nevada desert that was part of Operation Plumbbob in 1957. Betty Brandon lived and worked at the Nevada Test Side that summer.

In 1957, she was among the 50 UCLA staff who were sent to Mercury, Nevada to live and work on Operation Plumbbob. Plumbbob was a series of above-ground and atmospheric nuclear blast experiments at and over the Nevada Test Site. The workers, Betty among them, lived there for half a year. One task was the gathering of data about the levels of radiation and effects of fallout.

Betty and Ken

In the late 1950’s, back living in Los Angeles, Betty met Ken Brandon, then a young engineer from Indiana working for an LA company. They met thru a roomate, but it was a migraine that brought them together.

Ken says that they were part of a Methodist Church group that went on weekend outings, usually camping trips. On one trip to La Jolla, Betty came down with a horrific migraine headache. Ken bundled her in to the back of his 1956 Ford Fairlane which — like the Scion he drives today — was outfitted for camping. He created a makeshift bed for Betty in the back seat and drove her back to LA.

Betty and Ken married on her birthday in 1962. (Ken says it made it easy to remember the dates.)

They moved to Rochester, NY when Ken got a job with Kodak. Betty went to work for the University of Rochester, mainly in the linguistics department. Her resume at the time noted among other skills her ability at shorthand, which seemed in keeping with her succinct takes on life.

In Rochester, the Brandons sailed, sometimes making the 70 mile trip across Lake Ontario to Canada. Betty, says Ken, “could handle a boat really well.”

After a move to Muncie, Indiana for a few years, Betty and Ken settled in Oriental in 1994. They sailed. Betty volunteered with Meals on Wheels. She was an avid reader – “She always had to have a book,” says Ken – and favored histories rather than novels.

Betty Brandon at a Spirit of Christmas parade.

Betty Remembered

“She was an absolute joy,” says Bonnie Sadler who saw Betty on her weekly visits to Georgie’s hair salon. Bonnie recalls her often “bubbling over” and always asking questions. She had visited the salon last Friday.

“Betty always made me feel like she was glad to see me,” Jacksie Pitts recalled, “It’s a gift.”

She had other gifts. That politeness and gentleness cloaked a very keen and very dry wit. Betty could make friends laugh out loud, both for what she had to say, and the unvarnished way in which she said it.

A few years ago, two friends attended a performance with Betty at Oriental’s Old Theater. She was a tad underwhelmed by the show, but stuck it out for the second half. Wine was served during the intermission. Betty didn’t partake. She noted that when the performance resumed the crowd applauded wildly after a few moments. Betty turned to her friends and said quietly, amid the applause, “The alcohol worked.”

A collection of Betty photos at The Bean.

For more than a few of us, it’s a good bet that that plainspoken voice will be heard for some time to come. Especially as we pass the towns of Olympia, Reelsboro, Grantsboro, Alliance, Stonewall and Merritt.
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A memorial service for Betty Brandon will be taking place on Saturday, March 13 at 11a at Bryant Funeral Home on Hiway 55 in Alliance.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to HOPE Clinic, PO Box 728, Bayboro NC 28515.

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Posted Tuesday March 9, 2010 by Melinda Penkava