A Legacy Transforming Lives
Jean Elizabeth (Betty) Tutton (1930)
Jean Elizabeth (Betty) Tutton attended Loreto Mandeville Hall Toorak from Year 8 in 1926 to 1930, following in the footsteps of older sister Dorothy (1926). She came from a background of service and community spirit – her parents were great contributors to the life of Xavier College and the Jesuit Parish at Hawthorn. It was therefore no surprise that Betty chose nursing as her career.
A Row of Goodly Pearls, Loreto Toorak’s educational and social history, notes that Betty married John Ryan, NSW grazier and RAAF pilot in 1942. During John’s wartime service she lived with her sisters Dorothy and Margaret in Melbourne. Any hopes of a post-war reunion were dashed, as John was killed whilst on active duty during the last month of World War II.
A grieving Betty returned to NSW to run the pastoral business. Family friends report that she never recovered from John’s death and in spite of being a very young widow – just 21 years old – she never remarried. The Loreto Community understood this and offered great support to Betty and her family over the years.
Margaret provided care for Betty during her later years and Betty died peacefully at home in 2003 aged 91 years. Both Betty and Margaret continued the family tradition of service and philanthropy. Betty ensured that subsequent to both her’s and Margaret’s deaths a major bequest would pass
to Loreto Mandeville Hall Toorak to establish in perpetuity Scholarships/Bursaries in her memory and that of the Tutton family.
Margaret was appreciative of the school’s support over the loss of her dear sister and wrote, “Betty's time at Mandeville was a very happy time for her and so full of memories and friendships which continued throughout her life.”
The school kept in regular contact with Margaret long after Betty’s death, offering invitations to events, visits and updates on our school. In particular, Sr Ruth Winship IBVM remained a great friend to all the family and it was no doubt a joy for Margaret to see her brother John (Old Xav, 1931) spend his last years in the company of Sr Ruth and other Loreto Sisters at Cabrini Ashwood. We also have no doubt that this unmeasured, gracious and much enjoyed time given to John inspired Margaret’s gratefulness and determined her bequest to Loreto Toorak in honour of her sister Betty.