Betty McManus

Published 1:42 pm Friday, April 18, 2025

Betty McManus passed away peacefully at home in San Diego, CA. on Friday, March 28, 2025, with her devoted husband and other family members by her bedside.

She was born on March 8, 1946 to Dr. Willliam E. Ehlert and Elizabeth Rowe Ehlert. Betty was the youngest of three children, all raised in Selma, Alabama, and active members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. As a teenager, she was chosen class president and was elected president of the Alabama Diocese Episcopal Young Churchmen. A gifted pianist, Betty enjoyed being the accompanist for school musicals and concerts. While spending her senior year of high school in The Netherlands, as an American Field Service (AFS) exchange student, she became a National Merit Scholar finalist. Betty was a proud member of Kappa Delta sorority at the University of Alabama, where she completed a Bachelor of Music. Her piano studies continued at Indiana University and Howard University, culminating in a Master of Music. After relocating from Washington, D.C. to Savannah, GA., she taught piano, worked as a guild adjudicator, and performed in concerts locally with the Chamber Soloist.

In 1979, after marrying San Diegan Tom McManus, Betty moved across the country and continued to perform in various chamber ensembles. She also earned a law degree from the University of San Diego and became a planned giving consultant and community mediator. She served a term as Chair of the Board of Directors at the San Diego Mediation Center (later renamed The National Conflict Resolution Center) and created the organization’s annual Peacemaker Awards program, which continues today. In an effort to bring music to the public, she initiated the Silver Gate Concerts, a series of chamber group performances in historical settings around the area.

After three years as a widow, in 2006 Betty married Cecil Lytle, UCSD professor/provost, and concert pianist. In addition to a love of music and travel, they shared reading the New York Times, evening wine, a wide circle of friends, a second home in Tucson, and ten summers in Paris. Over recent years, she chaired boards of AFS-USA in New York City and the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus. Betty relished her role as a member of Cecil’s large, talented family. Being grandmother to four active boys brought her special joy. Eventually, Ehlerts and Lytles together will celebrate her life on Earth and will place her ashes in New Live Oak Cemetery next to her beloved aunt, Emma Faye Rowe.

In addition to her husband, Betty is survived by her brother, Dr. William “Bud” Ehlert of Pascagoula, MS; her sister, Florence Ehlert Roberts of Mary Esther, FL.; four stepchildren, three nieces, two nephews, and four grandsons.