Betty Loftus
Family-minded businesswoman who blended style, energy and charity
THE C O - F O U NDER o f Accurist Watches, Betty Loftus, who has died one month after celebrating her centenary, came a long way from her humble beginnings as one of six children growing up in the East End of London. Her parents, Usher (Isaac) Sedetsky (then Sedar) and Esther (née Kravis) were poor immigrants who had escaped persecution in Odessa. Her mother died when Betty was 11 years old and she and her sisters lived with her grandmother Feiga Baler Kravis while her brothers were sent to Norwood Orphanage. Betty learned early the importance of community and of charity. Many benefit from the Betty and Asher Loftus centre at the Jewish Care campus in Barnet.
She had bucket-loads of style but also deep substance; she was academic and exceptionally gifted at maths and was offered a scholarship at an advanced school. However, too poor to complete her education, she left school at 14.
When she was 20 she met Asher Loftus,ayoungmanfromLiverpool,whose family had fled the pogroms in Bialystok, booked a passage to New York, but ended up in Liverpool.
Asher came to London and immediately fell in love with Betty. They were married in June 1939, and during the warhadtwosonsAnthonyandRichard.
Having moved back to London as the war was ending, she was seriously injured by a V 1 rocket.
Her life was saved by a neighbouring doctor. She co-founded Accurist Watches with her husband Asher, and worked in the business for the next 35 years, pausing only for the arrival of their third son Andrew.
Betty was a working woman in an era of stay at home mums, yet she ensured the business mirrored their home life with family lunches and a strong Jewish ethos. Her Jewish values and traditions were deeply important, her Shabbat candlesticks her most valued possession. The home she created was full of love and laughter, shared with family and friends. She was delighted when- their sons all joined the family business.
Betty was always quietly determined – never pushy. She loved life, was sociable and exceptionally elegant and a great judge of character, a true
Despite losing her soulmate in 1992 Betty was determined not to be a burden and was only an asset. Ever grateful for what she had and conscious of those less fortunate than herself, Betty supported numerous causes and quietly helped those unable to cope.
Her interest in discovering new places never wavered as she travelled the world. Last year, at the age of 99, she had the battery replaced in her pacemaker. She asked how long it would last and being told “another ten years” promptly asked: “And then what?” Eternally young, with a great sense of humour, her smile would light up the room.
She celebrated her centenary, which fell on a Friday, in style. That evening our regular three hour Shabbat candles miraculously stayed lit for almost 20 hours, befitting the light that she had brought into the world and to her family.
This Rosh Hashanah Betty Loftus was approaching her final journey. Her family gathered around her bedside. The family made Havdallah by her bedside and moments after the light went out Betty Loftus took her last breath, peacefully and with dignity at home. Her great energy and spirit will remain a shining example to us all.
She is survived by her three sons, daughters in law, nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Born September 9, 1916. Died October 4, 2016