52 Faces - Bette LaPenta
Like many people in the area, the military brought Bette LaPenta to Onslow County. But not in the typical way - it was her sister who was married to a Marine in Jacksonville and LaPenta was fleeing an abusive marriage in 1977.
“I ran away from home with four babies and that’s what brought me down here,” LaPenta said.
Originally from Massachusetts, LaPenta grew up a natural born caregiver, taking care of her sickly grandmother and protecting her mother whenever she had seizures from the time she was in grade school. It was her childhood dream to become a nurse, but college was too expensive. So she asked permission to join the Navy - but her father, a sailor in WWII, would not allow it.“I couldn’t go to college and I couldn’t join the Navy so I got married,” LaPenta said.