Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Van Cott, MD, 56, Mass General Pathologist, Harvard Medical School Professor

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FRAMINGHAM – Elizabeth “Betsy” M. Van Cott, MD, FACP, 56, of Framingham, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, April 13, 2021, at her home.

She is the beloved wife of 30 years to Neil Storey, DVM.

Born in Agana, Guam, USA, she was a daughter of retired Lt. Commander U.S. Navy Cornelius James and Patricia Van Cott.

In addition to her husband and parents, she is survived by her brothers, Bradford and David Van Cott, sister-in-law Lisa, brothers-in-law, Robin Johnson and Keith Storey; her aunt, Jane Oppenheimer; and all her cousins, nephews and niece.

She was predeceased by her sister, Wendy and an infant brother, Jamie.

Dr. Van Cott graduated from The Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Md., before attending Smith College followed by Harvard Medical School, graduating in 1994.

She completed a residency in Clinical Pathology at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Boston, where she spent nearly three decades as a clinician.

At the time of her passing she was professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School and pathologist at Massachusetts General Hospital where she was the director of the Coagulation Laboratory and medical director of the Core Laboratory. She also provided pathology service to the Shriner’s Hospital for Children.

She was a world-renowned coagulation expert whose work benefited countless patients and colleagues. Her clinical and academic impacts were broad and deep. She served multiple societies in her field, edited several journals, published many academic papers and chapters and shaped current laboratory guidelines in coagulation.

Betsy loved her work, especially her training of her residents and collaborations with her colleagues.

This was recognized when she recently received the prestigious William Silen Lifetime Achievement Excellence in Mentoring Award from Harvard Medical School.

Betsy was kind, warm, compassionate and beloved by her colleagues and staff for whom she cared so deeply.

Outside of her work she was happy simply to be with her husband and her beloved dog, Saffy. She also loved family gatherings and was very welcomed company anytime. She spent many summers in her family’s homes in Bethany Beach, Del. and in Wayne. As a teenager she loved to play the piano and compose music, such as “By a Winter Brook” and “Muffin”, about her beloved retriever.

She brightened spirits any time she came into the room. Her family will greatly miss her.

Services will take place privately with her family at a later date.

The Pickering and Son Westborough Funeral Home is honored to be assisting Dr. Van Cott’s family with arrangements.

For online condolences, please visit http://www.westboroughfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Elizabeth to the Massachusetts General Hospital Pathology Department and sent to MGH Development Office, 125 Nashua St., Suite 540, Boston, MA 02114.