March 27, 1941 – October 10, 2017
Betty Falkenburg Hathaway died on October 10, 2017 surrounded by her family, after battling cancer for several months. Betsy lived a full and accomplished life with a wonderful family and many adored friends worldwide.
Betsy was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico on March 27, 1941 and raised in San Marino, where she lived for the rest of her life. She graduated from San Marino High School in 1958, where she was a song leader who could still fit into her pep outfit at age 70! She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1962 with honors, where she was a homecoming princess; was a member of Gamma Phi Beta Sorority, and majored in English. She married Harry L. Hathaway and moved to Baltimore, Maryland with Harry, who was Aide de Camp to the Commanding General of the US Army, Intellegence Corps. She helped manage the official social agenda for the Commanding General and his wife. Betsy then moved with Harry to San Marino where she became a mother of three boys – twins Mark and Brian (deceased 1991), and David.
Betsy was a talented artist specializing in color and interior decoration. She was very active in the community with parents’ groups, Cub Scouts, PTA. Betsy was president of the Pasadena Symphony Juniors; a Board member of both Art Center 100 and Hillsides; a Pasadena Junior League member; and a life member of the California Alumni Association, as well as several other local and national organizations.
Betsy loved her children and their many friends through their school and many sports activities. While she started her career as a high school English teacher in Baltimore, that quickly came to an end when her twins and youngest son quickly arrived all within 20 months!
Betsy is preceded in death by her parents, Frank and Wendel Falkenburg, and her sister Nancy Falkenburg Collins. She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Harry, her two married sons, Mark (Tami) and David (Wendy) Hathaway, and four grandchildren – Cate, Grace, Benett and Audrey Hathaway.
A service celebrating Betsy’s life will be held at 2:00 pm on Friday, October 20 at Church of Our Savior in San Gabriel.
In lieu of flowers, remembrance may be made in Betsy’s name to the Brian Hathaway Scholarship Fund at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Hillsides, or the UC Berkeley Foundation.
