Search Results

SPARKS -- Elizabeth M. Sparks died at home in Albuquerque on October 6, 2006. Born Rae Elizabeth MacEvoy on August 10, 1923 in Newark, NJ, she was the daughter of Rae (Smith) MacEvoy and Warren J. MacEvoy. She graduated from Columbia High School in Maplewood, NJ with the Class of 1941 and from the Berkeley School in 1942. During World War II she worked for her father and Uncle at the MacEvoy Shipbuilding Company in Savannah, GA, on a War Dept. contract for concrete Liberty Ships. On Nov, 29, 1943, "Bette" christened "Concrete No. 8" at Port Wentworth, GA. After the war she was a secretary at Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ, assigned to a Physical Research group led by William Shockley and A.H. White who were developing a digital switch to speed the telephone network. Using a special Underwood typewriter with changeable keys, she typed some of the first documents of the transistor age, the invention for which her bosses shared the Nobel Prize in 1956. While at Bell Labs, she met another member of the Shockley group, Morgan Sparks. Bette and Morgan were married on April 30, 1949. She was a homemaker in Basking Ridge NJ, and Albuquerque NM , where the family moved in 1972. She was active as a volunteer at Morristown (NJ) Memorial Hospital and as a chapter President for the American Field Service foreign exchange program at Albuquerque Academy. Bette was an avid golfer and lifelong lover of dogs. She is survived by her husband of fifty-seven years, Morgan of Albuquerque; daughters, Peggy Potter and husband, Richard of Waitsfield, VT, Patty Fusting and husband, James of Fullerton, CA; sons, Morgan of Burlington, VT and Gordon of Waitsfield, VT; and six grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother, John "Bud" MacEvoy of Eureka, CA; and several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents and a brother, Douglas MacEvoy. A Memorial Service will be held October 27, 2006 at 2 p.m. at French Mortuary Chapel, 10500 Lomas Blvd. NE, Albuquerque. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, 2201 San Pedro NE, Bldg. 2, Suite 102, ABQ, NM 87110 or to the charity of one's choice.
        Published on: Thu October 12, 2006