Thomas, Betsy

Betsy Thomas was born in Columbus, Ohio on July 15, 1944, to Scott and Frances Marshall. Thomas was the youngest of three children having an older sister, Carolyn and brother, John. Her father was a boiler operator and her mother a school cook. In 1996 she went on to graduate from Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work, and in April of that year, married computer programmer and analyst, Ed Enochs. Her first job was at New Jersey State Home for Girls where she worked from 1966-1969. Four years after returning to Ohio from New Jersey, Ed and Betsy traveled west to the Palouse in 1973 when Ed got a job at the University of Idaho’s Computer Center, now known as Information Technology Services. The couple had no children and divorced in 1978. Betsy would remain on the Palouse for the rest of her life.

As a social and political advocate, Thomas’ career was heavily invested in advocacy for social minorities and political organization at the grassroots level. She had involvement in issues such as minority rights, reproductive rights, gay and lesbian rights, human life amendments, sexual harassment, racism, domestic violence, and labor issues.

In 1975 she became a juvenile probation officer and joined the Moscow League of Women Voters (serving on its board from 1975-1976). In 1976, Betsy became the first woman to serve on the Region I Law Enforcement Planning Commission (LEPC) and in 1979 was elected the LEPC’s Vice Chair. She was the only women ever to serve on the commission’s executive body.

From 1973-1988 she was child protection caseworker for Latah County Youth Services. During this time period she also provided public relations and fundraising services for the Moscow-Pullman Pregnancy Counseling Service and was a social worker for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

In 1980 and 1982 Betsy ran for the Idaho State Legislature as a Democrat in District 5. Her main focus during her political campaign was improving the education system primarily through increase of funding.

From 1985-1997, Thomas was director of the University of Idaho Women’s Center. Her work at the Women’s Center was seen as crucial in developing many Women’s Center traditions and programs including brown bag lunches, speaker series, and violence prevention programming. Under Thomas’ leadership, programs for non-traditional students and assault prevention programming, such as a three credit rape education class, was initiated.

Former Governor Cecil Andrus appointed Thomas to the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday Task Force and the Idaho Council on Domestic Violence, thus she initiated the first Martin Luther King Jr. observations at the University before this task was handed over to the UI’s Multicultural Program.

Landmark to Thomas’ career was her involvement in the National Organization for Women, which she was involved with since 1976. Her involvement led her to take on such positions as NOW floor organizer during the National Democratic Convention in Los Angeles, NOW National Board of Directors 1981-1986, and from 1978-1980, Idaho state coordinator. In 1980, Betsy went to Illinois with NOW as the paid coordinator of the national march for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment on May 10, 1980. This march had over 90,000 participants representing over 350 organizations. Though the ERA did not pass, Betsy believed the impact of the movement to make change would still have substantial impact within American society.

It is notable to mention that she was the recipient of the Virginia Wolf Distinguished Service Award by the UI Women’s Center, the Rosa Parks award from the Latah County Human Rights Task Force, and the Athena Women of the Year Award.

After moving on from the Women’s Center in 1997 she remained employed at the University of Idaho as the job locator and counselor for Student Financial Aid Services until her retirement in 2006. Thomas died at age 63, Nov. 1, 2007, of breast cancer after living with the disease for several years.

From the guide to the Betsy Thomas Papers, 1918, 1960-2007, 1978-1996, (University of Idaho Library Special Collections and Archives)