Frederick Health Names Bettie Jane Bryant 2026 Good Samaritan of the Year

Frederick Health has named Bettie Jane Bryant the recipient of its 2026 Good Samaritan of the Year Award. Bryant was honored posthumously on May 13 at the annual Good Samaritan of the Year event attended by Frederick Health’s benefactors and community guests.

First presented in 1991, the Good Samaritan of the Year Award—Frederick Health’s most prestigious honor—honors an individual (or individuals) who have made a meaningful difference in Frederick County. Each year, members of the community are invited to nominate individuals for the award, and a selection committee reviews those nominations before selecting the honoree. This year, Bettie Jane Bryant was selected for her decades of community service, philanthropic leadership, and support for local cancer patients.

At just 14 years old, Bryant assumed leadership of a dance studio when her instructor, preparing to retire, asked her to take over. This early responsibility marked the beginning of Bryant’s career as a dance instructor, mentor, and community leader. In the years that followed, she became widely known across Frederick County as the longtime owner and director of Bettie Jane’s Center of Dance Art, where she helped shape generations of students over more than six decades.

Throughout her career, Bryant became known for both her dedication to dance education, and for instilling in her students the importance of service, generosity, and community involvement. For more than 60 years, she directed annual benefit dance recitals that supported a wide range of local causes and organizations. Collectively, those performances generated more than $200,000 in charitable support for Frederick Health, the Frederick County Y.M.C.A., the Maryland School for the Deaf, the Frederick County chapter of the American Cancer Society, and Thomas Johnson High School’s stage floor. In addition, the studio raised more than $175,000 for the Maryland Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in memory of two students lost to the disease.

Bryant’s community work expanded significantly after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. Following surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, she began helping other patients navigate the challenges that often accompany cancer treatment. In 2009, Bryant, her students, and studio staff organized a 5K walk to benefit local cancer patients. The first event raised more than $10,000.

In 2011, Bryant established the Bettie Jane Cancer Foundation, a volunteer-run nonprofit focused on reducing the financial burden of cancer treatment for local cancer patients. According to the Bettie Jane Cancer Foundation website, the Foundation’s mission is “to assist in providing financial support to cover medical cost (co-pays, medications and treatments), gas cards to assist transportation cost to treatments, utilities, food allowances, and cosmetic accessories (wigs, mastectomy bras or prosthesis) for any Cancer patient in active treatment residing in Frederick, Washington and Allegheny Counties.” Since its inception, the foundation has provided personalized, tangible support to more than 400 individuals.

Bryant also maintained a longstanding relationship with Frederick Health. She volunteered more than 2,200 hours through the hospital Auxiliary between 1987 and 2003. In addition, under Bryant’s leadership, the Bettie Jane Cancer Foundation has contributed more than $125,000 to Frederick Health since 2014 as a platinum-level member of the Corporate Honor Roll. The Foundation’s generosity helped build and equip the James M Stockman Cancer Institute, including support for two additional chemotherapy treatment pods and the Institute’s integrative services program. The Foundation also funded improvements to the hospital’s critical care service areas.

After eleven years as a cancer survivor, Bryant was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in March 2019. She began hormone therapy, continuing treatment until her passing on February 28, 2023, at age 77. She is survived by her beloved husband, daughter, son, five grandchildren, and countless students and friends. Following her passing, both her dance studio and the Bettie Jane Cancer Foundation have continued operating under the leadership of those closest to her, including family members and foundation volunteers.

The Bettie Jane Cancer Foundation recently made a gift in Bryant’s memory to support recognition of organ donors. Inspired by the care Bryant received at Frederick Health in her final months, the Organ Donor Tree of Life—unveiled outside Frederick Health’s Intensive Care Unit in 2025—was created to honor those who gave the gift of life through organ donation.

Those who nominated Bryant for the Good Samaritan of the Year Award described her as a beloved teacher and mentor, a compassionate advocate, and community leader whose service left a lasting mark on Frederick County. Kathryn Landis-Bogush, president of the Bettie Jane Cancer Foundation and a lifelong friend of Bryant, accepted the award on Bryant’s behalf at the May 13 event.

Past recipients of the Good Samaritan of the Year award are: Alden E. Fisher, Charles L. Snyder, Nancy Szymanski, Julia E. Hanna, Charles W. Hoff, III, L. Eugene Johnson, Charles V. Main, Alfred P. Shockley, Dr. Albert M. Powell, Jr., Barbara L. Rickman, Charles and Kathryn Nicodemus, Dr. Henry P. and Page Laughlin, Pat Throne, Debbie Williams, Donald C. Linton, Peter H. Plamondon, Dr. Harvey Levy, Gail T. Guyton, Carl and Norma Miller, Bess and Frank Gladhill, Kathryn M. “Kitty” Reed, Sue Scott Nisenfeld, Madeline M. Best, George C. Stauffer, Marion D. Carmack, Jr., Richard E. Markey, J. R. Ramsburg, Jr., Marvin and Lisa Ausherman, Dr. P. Gregory Rausch, Jeffrey and Patricia Hurwitz, Dr. Dana G. Cable, Karlys Kline, James S. Grimes, George and Bettie Delaplaine, Dr. Julio Menocal, W. Jerome Offutt, Bob and Betty Waltz, Dick and Sue Basford, Elizabeth Chung, Philip A. Berkheimer, J. Ray Ramsburg, III, the Frederick Health Employees, Medical Staff & Auxiliary Volunteers, Ted and Alyce Luck, Dr. Wayne Allgaier, Dr. Peter Kremers, Brooke DeSantis, and Mark and Judy Lancaster.