Betty White’s Best Friend Remembers Her One Year After Her Death

Saturday marked the one year anniversary since the legendary former “Golden Girls” star Betty White died at the age of 99. To mark this solemn occasion, White’s best friend Patty Sullivan spoke out to honor the iconic star. 

Sullivan Pays Tribute To White

“At sunset on New Year’s Eve, we will remember Betty by finding a quiet place on the ocean that brings to mind the 20 years of New Years that we spent in her home in Carmel, sharing love and laughter,” Sullivan told Fox News. 

White was just 18 days away from celebrating her 100th birthday when she died on December 31, 2021 at the age of 99.

“I will forever miss those walks on the beach, picking up sea glass and taking in all the beauty that our senses could share,” added Sullivan, who was a “surrogate” daughter to White and was friends with her for 53 years. They met on Cape Cod in the 1960s, when Sullivan’s husband was launching his music career and was performing at a local restaurant. White and her late husband Allen Ludden, who died in 1981, “instantly fell in love” with Tom’s performances. 

“Betty taught us so many things, but her greatest pearl was the lessons we learned watching her accept the inevitable changes that are part of all of our lives,” Sullivan continued. 

Related: Betty White Uttered This Powerful Last Word Says ‘Carol Burnett Show’ Star Vicki Lawrence

White Cared About The World

Sullivan chronicled her decades-long friendship with White in her new book “Betty White’s Pearls of Wisdom: Life Lessons from a Beloved American Treasure.” The biggest thing that Sullivan wants people to take away from her book is just how much White cared about the world.

Sullivan explained that White “never got involved in politics, but her love of this planet and her respect for it was so broad and so deep within her.” She went on to recall a story in which White was able to see “a lost baby sea otter” being “introduced to a surrogate mom” at the Monterey Aquarium.

“She could see the otters from her window in front of [her] house, and to see the loss of population over time, it just really disturbed her,” she remembered. “So when she put money and effort and time and concern into saving the sea otter, that was huge. And I got that moment with her — to see on her face, ‘Oh, my gosh, look what I was able to help others achieve.’

“I think that’s a bigger picture,” Sullivan stated. “We always see her promoting, take care of your animals, speak to them, they’ll speak to you kind of thing. But to realize the vast amount of work she was doing … that was her first love, by the way. Show business gave her the privilege to support and [fund it].”

White’s Love For Acting

Sullivan also said that White “adored acting from the get go” and believed that “every role that she went up for was meaningful to her.” 

“Golden Girls” was a show that White always knew would stand the test of time, according to Sullivan.

“When those reruns happen every night of the week, I have grandchildren of my friends say, ‘I love Betty White, I want her to be my grandma.’ And that show is timeless,” she said. 

“You think about the other stuff that she did , the delicious moments with David E. Kelley shows and … her wonderful Snickers commercial when she’s falling in the mud, and she has some words to say,” Sullivan added. “I mean, she was amazing. She loved every minute of it.”

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Related: Betty White ‘Crush’ Robert Redford Makes Sweet Confession After Her Passing

White’s Love For Life

Sullivan concluded by saying that White loved life right to the very end. 

“She was a light to the last moments of her public life,” Sullivan said. “I knew what she was feeling physically. I knew that she was struggling with her physical ability to get around. And, as I say in the book, she never allowed a wheelchair. She never sat in one.”

“She had a walker toward the end, but she always had a handsome young guy to escort her everywhere,” she stated. 

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Betty White was a true icon, and there will never be another one like her. While she is dearly missed, we can all find comfort in knowing that she is in Heaven with God now. 

We love you, Betty!