Lorraine Hanaway

Born in The Dalles, OR, on March 9, 1927 to Ruth Viola Kure and Henry Beck Kure, she was the second of their four children. She was preceded in death by her younger brother Dale Kure in 1999, by her older sister Joann VandenBrink in 2001, and by her husband of 59 years, Bill, in 2018. She is survived by her sister Betty Elder, daughter Annie Hanaway (Peter), and grandchildren Will and Robin Hanaway.

She grew up helping run her family dairy and fruit farm in Wapato, WA. In the early mornings she picked asparagus and helped her father deliver the day’s milk before heading off to the 2-room schoolhouse she attended with her siblings. During those days, she often dreamed of escaping farm life and moving to New York City, to be a journalist and live a life of adventure and travel.

She attended Washington State University in Pullman, WA, rooming with her older sister (and best friend) Joann. There she flourished; she built deep, lifelong friendships, majored in journalism with high honors, and worked at the student paper, eventually becoming its editor. A few years later, she fulfilled her dream by moving to New York, sharing a tiny apartment in Greenwich Village and diving head-first into life in the most exciting city in the country. It was as glorious as she’d hoped, and she maximized her adventures through jobs like organizing the International Herald-Tribune World Youth Forum, writing for Pan American Airlines, creating publications for The Maternity Center Association, and even doing a brief stint for the editor of the New York Times crossword puzzles.

In 1958, mutual friends introduced her to William (Bill) Hanaway. They almost immediately realized they were meant to be together. They shared a love of New York City, and of books, walking, opera, world travel, and the outdoors. For much of their courtship they explored New York, often walking the length and breadth of the city while talking into the wee hours. Through their nearly-60-year marriage, they continued to delve deep into all these mutual interests.

When her daughter Annie was born, she initiated her into the family tradition by taking her on walks all over the city. She loved to cap off a stroll through Central Park with a quick visit to the (then free) Metropolitan Museum of Art, sometimes just to share one painting. She recalled this as one of the happiest periods of her life and counted herself lucky to have lived in New York at a time of such cultural and social vibrancy.

Her adventurous spirit led her to agree to move to Teheran, Iran for 18 months with their toddler daughter when her husband received a Fulbright grant to finish his PhD. During that time, they traveled throughout the Middle East as well as all over what was then known as Persia, even having the opportunity as rare Westerners in the country to have tea with the Queen.

In 1971, Bill accepted a faculty position at the University of Pennsylvania, and the family settled in Wayne, PA. Leaving behind her friends, a job she loved, and her beloved city was challenging, and while she built lasting friendships with several lovely neighbors, she never fully adjusted to life in the suburbs. Eventually, she found work she really enjoyed as a writer and editor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Study of Aging (now Penn’s Institute on Aging), where she worked until retirement. Among her high points there was interviewing Buckminster Fuller, whom she found delightful.

Once she found her footing in Pennsylvania, she began to pursue her other interests too. She became heavily involved in the founding of the Jane Austen Society of North America. Over almost 40 years, she remained active in the organization, serving as the head of Membership, the President of the Society, and the co-founder of the Eastern Pennsylvania Regional group, and attending every Annual General Meeting until 3 years before she died. She was universally beloved and respected in JASNA, got along with everyone, and was known for her warm and welcoming outreach to new “Janeites.”

In her 50’s, she and Bill took up hiking and camping, and quickly fell in love with backpacking. Together they climbed all 48 of New Hampshire’s 4000-footers, and over the years completed over 1000 miles of the Appalachian Trail, along with hundreds of other extended hikes throughout New England, the Pacific Northwest, and as far as the Karakoram Range in northern Pakistan.

During this time, they bought a farm in rural New Hampshire, where they spent 5 months of the year. Although she loved her travels, she was also a homebody, and in some ways, she was most content puttering in her garden, listening to her husband read to her as she cooked dinner, or enjoying the view from the patio.

What her family and friends will remember is her kindness and thoughtfulness, her sense of humor and generosity, her passion for dark chocolate, and the exquisitely specific way she showed each her love. Lorraine was strong, adventurous, loyal, resilient, gentle, funny and a great writer. May she continue to spread sweetness and love all around her as she embarks on her next adventures. In lieu of flowers, donations in any amount may be made in her name at Philabundance.org.