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Betsy Lyons Terry dies at 84

By JOHN D. CLARKE TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Published: January 08, 2009

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-- "I took the course simply to be doing it. It got to be the joy of my life." In 26 years of being Poppy the clown, Betsy Lyons Terry spread the joy around.

The former high school drama student took one of the first courses in clowning in the area in the early 1970s, when she was in her 50s. "Poppy" was born -- and blossomed.

Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus honored her by inviting her to appear in full makeup and costume to mingle with the crowd when they played in Richmond, no audition was necessary, said friend Shirley Jones, whose clown name is Daisy.

In her pre-clowning days, the Terry home across from Douglas Freeman High School in Henrico County was a favorite hangout for students. "She had this warm, loving countenance about her that made people want to be there," Jones said.

Mrs. Terry taught clowning through area community colleges and performed and taught at the Children's Museum of Richmond, senior homes and hospitals. She was a past president of Clowns of America International's local club, Alley No. 3, the oldest in the organization. She was the first to receive the local group's Charlie Award, awarded for promoting clowning.

She was a friend and inspiration to Jonathan Austin, the Richmond juggler and magician and part of the next generation of those keeping the circus arts alive. "I've got three children, eight grandchildren and Jonathan," she said in a 2003 Richmond Times-Dispatch interview.

"I saw her for the first time at Dogwood Dell. We became friends, and we started doing shows together when I was 16. She became a mentor to me. She was naturally very, very funny. She had impeccable timing, and said things that still make me laugh years later," Austin said.

Mrs. Terry died Sunday at age 84. A graveside service will be held today, Thursday, at noon in Hollywood Cemetery, where she will be buried next to her husband, Sanford T. Terry, founder of television station WRVA, now WWBT-12.

The Terrys were married 67 years. Mr. Terry died in 2000.

Mrs. Terry retired from performing at events after a serious shoulder injury in a fall in the late'80s but never really stopped clowning, her friends said. She even attached a pouch to her motorized wheelchair for her balloon pump for making balloon animals ("Balloonology," in the trade) and other gear.

She entertained residents of Beaufont Towers, where she lived the past seven years. She kept a closet full of costumes and props, said daughter-in-law Susan Terry of Richmond.

"She was THE clown in Richmond," said Jackie "Lollipop" Williams. "At parties, the kids would just run up to her and almost crawl up her legs."

Son Sanford T. "Tom" Terry III of Richmond, said "Poppy" entertained at all her grandchildren's birthdays.

In addition to her son, survivors include two daughters, Sandra T. Parkerson of Parrish, Fla., and Betty T. Beazley of Fredericksburg; a brother, Maxwell Tanner Lyons of Virginia Beach; eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.