Beloved daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, cousin, and friend, Bette was born on March 26, 1999 in Dallas, TX into the boundless love of her parents, older brother and her large extended family. She was creative, smart, funny, sassy and beautiful inside and out. From a very young age, Bette suffered severe bouts of depression. She discovered that dance brought relief and she developed a lifelong passion for ballet and other disciplines. She spent many happy hours enrolled in classes at the Dallas Ballet Center and performing on stage was one of her greatest joys. Bette began high school in the dance program at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas where she was sidelined by injury followed by a severe episode of depression. She attended a residential treatment program in Utah before attending Chatham Hall in Virginia. After her time away from Dallas, she was delighted to enroll in Southern Methodist University for college and loved her studies and her new friends. More than anything, Bette wanted a “normal” life as a “regular” student. At the time of her death, Bette was completing her sophomore year.

Even with those joys, Bette’s illness gave her no respite, and bouts of severe depression continued. With the support and agreement of her family, she bravely pursued conventional and experimental treatments under the care and guidance of wonderful professionals. She was determined in her pursuit of emotional health and she hoped to make a career of advocating for others with the same struggles. The isolation of her invisible disease formed the empathetic lens through which she attempted to find meaning in her struggles.

Bette left the world knowing that she was deeply loved. Her openness to treatment and the resources that could be brought to bear were not sufficient to overcome her pain. Even in her leave-taking, Bette demonstrated a generous and pragmatic point of view. She asked her family to find transformational solutions for those suffering the kind of pain that had become a constant in her life. She directed that her experience be the catalyst in the search for innovative science and for compassionate “wayfinding” for families; the Bette Rathjen Foundation is the result.

Beloved daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece, cousin, and friend, Bette was born on March 26, 1999 in Dallas, TX into the boundless love of her parents, older brother and her large extended family. She was creative, smart, funny, sassy and beautiful inside and out. From a very young age, Bette suffered severe bouts of depression. She discovered that dance brought relief and she developed a lifelong passion for ballet and other disciplines. She spent many happy hours enrolled in classes at the Dallas Ballet Center and performing on stage was one of her greatest joys. Bette began high school in the dance program at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas where she was sidelined by injury followed by a severe episode of depression. She attended a residential treatment program in Utah before attending Chatham Hall in Virginia. After her time away from Dallas, she was delighted to enroll in Southern Methodist University for college and loved her studies and her new friends. More than anything, Bette wanted a “normal” life as a “regular” student. At the time of her death, Bette was completing her sophomore year.