- Date Of Birth: June 4, 1933
- Date Of Death: September 14, 2022
- State: Maine
Betty J. Hahn of Bath, Maine, passed away quietly at Hill House in Bath on September 14, 2022, at the age of 89. Born in Summersville, WV on June 4, 1933, she was the daughter of Gaymond Golden Preast and Norah Virginia Ewing Preast.
After graduating from Nicholas County High School in 1951, Betty was employed by the FBI in Washington, DC, as a secretary in the Training Division.
She traveled extensively with Joe and her family to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Washington, DC, Honolulu, HI, Newport, RI, Mayport, FL and in 1970 came to Bath, ME where Joe was assigned as the Military Personnel Officer at Naval Air Station, Brunswick, ME.
After staying at home to raise her children, Betty gained employment with the Navy, first in Newport, RI, Brunswick, ME, and finally at the office of the Supervisor of Shipbuilding, the Navy office in Bath, ME. She retired from federal service in 1993 with 28 years of federal service.
Betty was probably best known in Bath for her wonderful sense of humor and as a distance runner and walker. After a vacation in Hawaii in 1977, she seriously took up running as a way to stay fit. Her first race was from Wiscasset to Bath on US Route 1. In 10K races she was world-ranked in the women over 55 class. She often ran in “fun runs” at the Naval Air Station. If a U.S. Marine failed to beat her, his liberty card was suspended and he could not go home that day. Her longest race was a half-marathon in Orlando, FL where she placed third in her class (women over 65). Betty had so many trophies, that her husband removed a wall in their home and installed a display case.
She was an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church (All Saints Parish) and took an active part in many parish activities.
Besides her husband, Betty will be sadly missed by her three children, Betty Jo Erwin and her husband Michael of St. Petersburg, FL. Michele Marie Bruce and her husband James of Alna, ME, and Joseph Edward Hahn and his partner Carrie Placey of Bath. She is also survived by seven grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, numerous cousins, nieces and nephews, and hundreds of neighbors and friends.
Betty was predeceased by her parents and a brother William Preast of Goldsboro, NC and a sister Helen Skaggs of Victor, WV. Her surviving siblings are Ralph Preast of Russelville, WV and Gaymond Preast of Oklahoma City, OK
