Marie Betcher
By Forrest Preece
Remember those TV commercials about the “World’s Most Interesting Man”? If there is a reboot for that ad campaign, maybe they should put a female slant on it and use Rabbi Marie Betcher for the talent.
What a life she’s had. Marie’s parents and sister were born and lived in northern Italy, eventually moving to New York where Marie was born. The family then moved to Las Vegas where Marie was raised and where her father was the custom tailor to the stars, including the “Rat Pack” (Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, etc.) and hotel mogul Barron Hilton. During her childhood in Vegas, her mom was renowned as one of the best cooks in town and celebrities like Glen Campbell and Perry Como would come to their house to eat dinner. (Marie had a crush on Glen.)
Fast forward through college, where she earned Bachelor and Master of Music Degrees in Vocal Performance (she originally entered in Piano Performance) from Indiana University School of Music and Florida State respectively. After years of having a successful career in music, she married Jonathan Betcher, became an Ordained Cantor through Hebrew Union College and eventually studied and became an Ordained Rabbi. Here in Central Texas, Marie served as Rabbi/Cantor/Education Director for the URJ Shir Ami Congregation in Cedar Park for almost 12 years.
Largely thanks to Jonathan’s serving as an Austin Police Officer for their first four years of marriage, she became involved with the Cedar Park Police Department. After being the Chaplain for the Cedar Park Police Department for six years, she was approached at an event by Chief Art Acevedo of the Austin Police Department who “needed a Rabbi.” She signed on with APD and eventually made US history, as the first and only female Rabbi to be a Senior Chaplain for a Police Department. After 12 ½ years on the force, including being named Chaplain of the Year, she resigned at the beginning of 2024.
Oh, and let’s see – as an opera singer and concert pianist, she performed in Italy and England and at The Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall; she’s a board member for Swan Songs (musical last wishes for the dying), has served on the board of the Interfaith Action of Central Texas, blesses dogs for the Mighty Texas Dog Walk, and has directed the Dell’s Angels senior singers for 10 years.
By the way, Linda and I met Jon and Marie at a Scotch and Cigar dinner held at the Four Seasons back in the 1990s, and they enjoy riding Harleys. I’m leaving out a lot, but I need to get on with the story.
Being a Police Chaplain
Some of the functions of a Chaplain with a police department are enjoyable – like officiating at weddings, appearing at community functions, and even blessing dogs at events like the Mighty Texas Dog Walk for Service Dogs, Inc. at Camp Mabry. But having to do death notices – that takes a strong person. At APD, these tasks are handled by Victim Services, but Marie did many, many death notices throughout the Cedar Park area. It’s an unbelievably difficult thing to tell someone their husband has been killed in a car wreck or that their child has been found at the bottom of a pool. One summer, she had to deliver four death notices about children who had drowned. “They usually go to the ground when you tell them—99 percent of the time,” Marie says. Typically, she would just get down there with them, hold them, and ask if she could pray for them. “They’re immediately insane with grief – talk about life-changing!” One especially painful task she had to perform was letting a woman know that her grandchild had drowned. After revealing the horrible facts, she turned around and saw the veteran male officers behind her had started weeping. Chaplains are there to comfort and bring a spiritual presence when needed. They are always non-denominational.
I asked her if there was any time that she was afraid when she was on ride-outs. She said that she always stayed in the car, but yes, she saw some intense episodes happening in front of her. Those instances gave her a chance to see that APD officers show enormous restraint. Once, they rolled up on four or five drug dealers who got into a fight with the officers—knives, guns, the works. The police were being spit on, swung at, and cut. Eventually, they were able to subdue the bad guys and handcuff them. Marie says that it was frightening for her to see that kind of violence and not be able to do anything to help. “I was wishing that I was six-foot-four and I could have gotten into it!”
Community Service
One of Marie’s favorite nonprofits is Swan Songs, which provides serenades for people who are in the last stage of their lives. Relatives of people who are in hospices or care facilities who want to give their loved ones the gift of their favorite music, performed live, can call and ask for a concert. Her tighter connection with this group came in 2011 when Linda and I took her and Jonathan with us to their annual fundraiser. Jerry Jeff Walker was playing and it was a fun time. That night, she met with Christine Albert, the group’s founder. They later visited at length, and she agreed to join the Swan Songs board. She had already been performing concerts for the group and it was a natural step for her, since much of her chaplaincy work involves visiting people in hospitals. “Being involved with Swan Songs as performer and board member has been a wonderful part of my life,” Marie says.
Marie adds that she likes to help groups that don’t get as much press as some bigger ones; and she loves to be involved with groups which rescue animals. For instance -- Blue Moon Sanctuary which shelters around 175 rescued donkeys. (If they don’t get saved, they go to the glue factory.) Last year, Marie was asked to come bless the donkeys at their Donko De Mayo fundraiser. And there is Living Grace Canine Ranch - hospice and care for elderly or ill dogs. “At this age, I get to pick and choose what I do.”
Looking back on it all, Marie remembers when she gave a talk at a church in Georgetown and she said that they should put this on the sign out front: “Born Again, and Again, and Again.” “All the things that happen in your life build on each other.”
Random facts about Marie and her family:
--Ray Sinatra, Frank’s first cousin, was her piano coach in Las Vegas. He was the Maestro (music director) for the Folies Bergère at the Tropicana for 36 years and he’d let Marie be in the orchestra pit while he conducted the orchestra. She also sat by the pianist during rehearsals. “Those female dancers on stage looked like they were nine feet tall from down there,” Marie says.
--She met Engelbert Humperdinck, saw his act, and had a big crush on him after that. Also, she often sat in the wings to see BB King’s show in the Hilton lounge.
--Her father designed and created Elvis’ jumpsuits and capes. Johnny Carson spoke about her dad’s custom suits and design, rivaled by none!
--Because of her father’s relationship with Barron Hilton, she had a summer job at the front desk of the Hilton Hotel in Vegas for a couple of years during her college days. She saw Elvis many times. But two of her favorites to meet were Joe Frazier and his wife!
