Bethann Beall Faris Van Ness (May 26, 1902 – December 23, 1993) was an American writer. She wrote religious books for children, and was executive director of the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

in Nashville. She was also manager of the Nashville Symphony.

Early life and education

Bethann Faris was born in

Mount Carmel, Illinois Mount Carmel is a city in and the county seat of Wabash County, Illinois, United States. At the time of the 2010 census, the population was 7,284, and it is the largest city in the county. The next largest town in Wabash County is Allendale, po ...

, and raised in Philadelphia, the daughter of John Thomson Faris and Clara Carter Faris. Her father, a clergyman, wrote several books about the American West. She graduated from

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

in 1924, and was a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

. She pursued further studies at the Tennessee School of Social Work.

Career

Faris worked for the Presbyterian

Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...

Board in Philadelphia from 1924 to 1928. She moved to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

after she married, and worked at a publishing house there. During World War II, she wrote articles about the YWCA's war work for the ''Tennessee Banner''. Despite having no musical training, Van Ness was manager of the Nashville Symphony from 1953 to 1961. She was executive director of the Nashville YWCA from 1961. She was deputy commissioner of the Girl Scout Council, a charter member of the

Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities Founded in 1889, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities was the United States' first statewide historic preservation group. In 2003 the organization adopted the new name APVA Preservation Virginia to reflect a broader focus o ...

, active in the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

, and taught Sunday School at Immanuel Baptist Church in Nashville.

Publications

Van Ness wrote books for children, many of them published by the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...

's Sunday School Board. ''Eagle Boy'' (1971) is about "a Tsimshian Indian boy growing up in Alaska in the 1940s". * ''This is My Bible'' (1944) * ''My Family and I'' (1948) * ''The Talking Penny'' (1953) * ''The Bible Story Book'' (1963, illustrated by Harold Minton) * ''Eagle Boy'' (1971) * ''Bible Stories for Children'' (audio recordings, 1976)

Personal life

Bethann Faris married Noble Van Ness in 1928; he was an editor and manager at the Baptist Sunday School Board. They had three children. The Van Nesses retired to

Vinalhaven, Maine Vinalhaven is a town on the larger of the two Fox Islands in Knox County, Maine, United States. Vinalhaven is also used to refer to the island itself. The population was 1,279 at the 2020 census. It is home to a thriving lobster fishery and ho ...

in 1965. Her husband died in 1976, and she died in 1993, in Rockland, Maine, aged 91 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Ness, Bethann Beall Faris 1902 births 1993 deaths YWCA leaders Wellesley College alumni Writers from Nashville, Tennessee 20th-century American women writers