Betty Anne Hamilton
January 23, 1923 - May 17, 2013
Obituary
Age 90, passed away peacefully Friday May 17th, 2013
A longtime resident of Normandy Park and Three Tree Point, Betty was a beloved wife, mother, and grandmother.
An only child of Paul F. Hittinger and Rossadah Taylor Hittinger, Betty was born January 23, 1923 in New York, NY. Her early childhood was spent between Pacific Grove, CA and New York City. When Betty was a teenager her family moved to Albany, NY. She graduated from Albany High School in 1941 where she had met her future husband, the late William (Bill) Hauth Hamilton in an advanced math class. She was a cheerleader and he a football player. After high school, Betty attended business school and then went to work in a law office. She also had a brief career as a model in New York City. During WWll, Betty volunteered as a staff member in the New York Interceptor Command which monitored possible sightings of enemy aircraft throughout the state. She also volunteered as an ambulance driver. In November 1944, Betty and Bill were married just before Bill was sent to the South Pacific as a Navy pilot.
After the war, Bill attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and earned an Aeronautical Engineering degree in 1949. That summer the family moved to Seattle where Bill went to work for Boeing. Their first home was an old log cabin located in Normandy Park. Bill later started his own engineering company and Betty worked as the office manager for Hamilton Engineering for many years.
Betty was not only beautiful but also very smart. She was an avid reader who was always knowledgeable about current events and history. Betty was very active as a Cub Scout den mother for their three boys, a Campfire Girls leader for their daughter, a volunteer with Friends of Youth and an Elder at the Lake Burien Presbyterian Church. Both her grandfather Ross Taylor and great grandfather William Taylor were Methodist ministers. The latter being a world evangelist for whom Taylor University is named.
Although Betty loved to travel, her favorite location was the family beach cabin on Orcas Island where she gardened, beach-combed, and played with her dogs, children, and grandchildren.
Betty was preceded in death by her husband and her daughter Cathy Gilligan. She is survived by her sons William (Bev), Paul (Merry Lynne), and Robert (Colleen Jury) Hamilton. She also is survived by eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at Lake Burien Presbyterian Church, 15003 14th Ave SW, Burien, WA 98166 on June 1, 2013 at 10:00 am. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to the Lake Burien Presbyterian Church, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation or the Alzheimer’s Foundation.
