Potomac West in Alexandria, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Dr. Betty Louise Josephson King
1943-2016
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), March 10, 2019
1. Dr. Betty Louise Josephson King Marker
Inscription.
Dr. Betty Louise Josephson King. Betty King was a scientist, teacher, community activist, photographer, mother, grandmother, neighbor, and friend who lived in the Hume Springs neighborhood in north Alexandria from the early 1980's until she passed away in her home on Mark Drive on June 2, 2016. Betty helped to reinforce a human connection to the Park and forge the vision of this urban waterway to reality., Betty was the epitome of the citizen activist , community involvement in her Hume Springs neighborhood was a passion. Concerned with safety and crime in the area, she was part of a group of residents who were instrumental in ousting drug dealers from Hume Springs in the early 1990s. Betty ran for Alexandria City Council in 1991 as an independent. For many years she was a Board Officer of the Hume Springs Civic Association and worked tirelessly as an active participant of the Arlandria Small Area Planning Advisory Group and the Four Mile Run Restoration Joint Task Force between Alexandria and Arlington. Betty followed growth in the community by taking and displaying many professional photographs of families, children and the neighborhood. She acted as an impromptu historian for the community., Betty earned a Ph.D. in microbiology from Harvard University. She taught biology at Bard College and Skidmore College in New York State for several years before returning to the Washington DC area, where she was involved in the early formation and development of Northern Virginia Community College's biology department and taught for more than three decades. After retirement, she continued to tutor children in her Hume Springs neighborhood. Her young students fondly called her the "Biology Guru"., Betty's kitchen window overlooked Four Mile Run Park and her love for the parkland was apparent. She invigorated the tie between the Park and the community, and the active park stewardship we see today reflects the legacy of her work. This entrance to Four Mile Run Park was dedicated to Betty King by the Hume Springs Civic Association in 2017 in recognition of her energetic involvement and efforts to improve the quality of life in the surrounding community.
Betty King was a scientist, teacher, community activist, photographer, mother, grandmother, neighbor, and friend who lived in the Hume Springs neighborhood in north Alexandria from the early 1980's until she passed away in her home on Mark Drive on June 2, 2016. Betty helped to reinforce a human connection to the Park and forge the vision of this urban waterway to reality.
Betty was the epitome of the citizen activist — community involvement in her Hume Springs neighborhood was a passion. Concerned with safety and crime in the area, she was part of a group of residents who were instrumental in ousting drug dealers from Hume Springs in the early 1990s. Betty ran for Alexandria City Council in 1991 as an independent. For many years she was a Board Officer of the Hume Springs Civic Association and worked tirelessly as an active participant of the Arlandria Small Area Planning Advisory Group and the Four Mile Run Restoration Joint Task Force between Alexandria and Arlington. Betty followed growth in the community by taking and displaying many professional photographs of families, children and the neighborhood. She acted as an impromptu historian for the community.
Betty earned a Ph.D. in microbiology from Harvard University. She taught biology at Bard College and Skidmore College in New York State for several years
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before returning to the Washington DC area, where she was involved in the early formation and development of Northern Virginia Community College's biology department and taught for more than three decades. After retirement, she continued to tutor children in her Hume Springs neighborhood. Her young students fondly called her the "Biology Guru".
Betty's kitchen window overlooked Four Mile Run Park and her love for the parkland was apparent. She invigorated the tie between the Park and the community, and the active park stewardship we see today reflects the legacy of her work. This entrance to Four Mile Run Park was dedicated to Betty King by the Hume Springs Civic Association in 2017 in recognition of her energetic involvement and efforts to improve the quality of life in the surrounding community.
Location. 38° 50.424′ N, 77° 3.592′ W. Marker is in Alexandria, Virginia. It is in Potomac West. It is on Edison Street north of Mark Drive, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3835 Edison Street, Alexandria VA 22305, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area and in Northern Virginia. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers.
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), March 10, 2019
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), March 10, 2019
3. Betty King Entrance to Four Mile Run Park
Credits. This page was last revised on January 27, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 10, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 693 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on March 10, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
