Veach/Foshee Genealogical Library

Our Family's Story
In loving memory of Betsy and Chet

Theirs was truly the greatest generation.   Betsy Earle Akin and Chet Veach squeezed a lifetime of memories into three short years.  When he was home on leave from the Navy in March 1945, they became engaged.  In her letters, Betsy described those few days as the happiest of her life.  When he returned to duty, they wrote to each other daily and planned how life would be after the war.  In October, he returned on leave and they were married at the First Baptist Church in Vivian, Louisiana.

Within eighteen months they had a child.  Only six weeks later, Betsy's life would be over.  Suffering complications from childbirth, she died and passed quietly into God's embrace.  She was buried on her twentieth birthday leaving a devastated young husband, and parents paralyzed with grief.   The entire town of Vivian mourned the loss of the cheerleader with the movie star looks and angelic personality.

They were my parents and now they are both gone.  The pictures and stories which I have collected for this website are all that I have of their few short years.

Betsy's Story (Video)