Elizabeth Scarinzi

Elizabeth Joan Scarinzi was born on October 1, 1969, in Phoenix, Arizona. Before exploring much of the country, Betsy began exploring the music world and played flute in high school and was a member of the Central High School Marching Band in Phoenix. Sensing her musical inclination, she eventually made her way to the Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City to pursue acting and singing. While Betsy’s talents were evident, more practical concerns led her to earn an RN degree and become a nurse. Betsy’s nursing background provided her the opportunity to travel throughout the US learning new subspecialties, but eventually landed on working in the emergency room, helping patients immediately and empathetically. As a traveling nurse, Betsy made stops in Tucson, Phoenix, New Jersey, and eventually New Mexico. While the ER was a major part of her life, music always carried the day. Betsy was a natural singer, but she learned to play the flute, guitar and a little piano. With these skills, Betsy became more adept at expressing her feelings through original music, and began writing and performing her own songs. She began refining her skills as a budding rock star at Long Wong’s in Tempe, where a close community of friends and musicians leaned on each other to create and play new music. Nursing opportunities took Betsy to Tucson where once again she seemed to engage the entire city but particularly the downtown music scene. Betsy’s first band project, Silverbell, led to her first CD, the Whitewashed Heart. Among the other highlights in Betsy’s music career were appearances at South by Southwest in Austin, and also at the Roger Clyne Circus Mexicus in Rocky Point, Mexico. This special invitation by Roger Clyne himself stands out as one of Betsy’s proudest memories. Betsy really found her groove in New Mexico and quickly became an integral part of the Santa Fe music/arts scene. It was here that she founded the Holly Hocks. With her powerful vocals and decked out in her trademark hats, Betsy earned the respect of many fans and fellow musicians. She founded the Holly Hocks and played in all of Santa Fe’s major music venues, all the while composing new music that culminated in her second CD, Firefly, which was nominated for New Mexico’s best alt-country album of the year in 2020, and continues to receive radio play. The title track tells the story of when she learned she had cancer and contains the lyric “I won’t go down without a fight.” This became her battle cry, and is now part of her legacy. Betsy was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2018, and relentlessly fought for every second of life and squeezed a lifetime of experiences into three short years. In addition to writing and performing music, Betsy made time to arrange meals for first responders with donations from her social media connections in conjunction with local restaurants. For this and other acts of generosity Betsy was presented with 2020 Eric Larson Lifetime Achievement Award by the New Mexico Music Awards. Betsy passed away peacefully at her home on November 26, 2021, with the love and support of her friends and family. She will be missed every day by the many people who got a chance to meet her. She is survived by her sisters, Meg Hartwell (Pat Esquivel) and Sarah Sockol (Chris Zoppi), and her brother Ralph Scarinzi. Betsy’s friends and family will host a celebration of life in Santa Fe as soon as it is safe to do so.