Forward-thinking sister with a talent for business
Betty maltby had a successful career in the beauty industry along with sister rita, but was equally happy holidaying with husband roy
POSSESSED of an entrepreneurial spirit that saw her working well into her seventies, Betty Maltby was always open to pursuing new ideas and challenges.
So much so that in the 1970s she and her younger sister Rita became pioneers in the beauty industry.
“We were both area managers with Avon cosmetics at the time and Betty decided we ought to franchise from a Canadian company,” recalls Rita. “We went over there and sorted it all out, and we were the first people to introduce sculpted nails to the UK, launching our own business, Nails & Lashes.”
The sisters were born 10 years apart in Leicester to mum Edith, a tailor, and estate agent dad Reg. When their grandfather died, the family moved to Nottingham, where Betty landed a job in the Griffin & Spalding department store.
RAPID RISE
Starting out in the coffee shop, the glamorous teenager was spotted and transferred into the beauty
consultant for cosmetics brand Charles of the Ritz before moving to Estée Lauder. Betty rose to become one of the top consultants in the country, landing an invitation to meet Estée Lauder herself at a function in London.
After marrying Roy, an engineer, when she was 20, Betty continued to pursue her career in beauty.
When she and Rita launched Nails & Lashes, Rita ran their
original salon in Nottingham while Betty opened a second in Leicester.
“We loved working together,” says Rita. “Although there’s an age gap, we were similar in personality and she was always my big sister who I looked up to.”
FRESH START
After many successful years in the beauty business, Betty decided to turn her energies to estate agency, like her dad. She worked on luxury new home developments, using her head for figures to calculate the square footage of properties going onto sites. She stayed in that role until retirement, but continued part-time until she was 75.
Betty and Roy, who were married for 53 years, loved to go on shopping trips to Leicester and Nottingham. They also travelled to Tenerife a couple of times a year, and for her 70th birthday, Rita and her daughters treated Betty to a trip to Las Vegas.
“We had a wonderful time as she loved a gamble!” says Rita.
Betty moved to Torquay after Roy passed away to live in a retirement apartment where she was very happy for six years, enjoying regular coffee mornings and trips out.
After later being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, she needed more support to live independently, and Rita and her daughter Karen were happy to provide it.
We loved working together. We were similar in personality and she was always my big sister who I looked up to
Rita, Betty’s sister