Elizabeth Moore Hamilton

Betsy was born on Sept. 3, 1928 in Phoenixville, PA to Raymond T. Moore and Esther Marie Jelley. She attended Lansdowne High School in Pennsylvania, graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Philosophy from Carleton College in 1950, and received a Masters in Elementary Education from Syracuse University in 1951. She was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa in 1950.

Betsy moved to Glastonbury in 1961 and took an active role in her community. In the 1960s and early 1970s, she volunteered for the League of Women Voters, arranged cultural events for students at Hopewell School, and worked with the World Affairs Center of Greater Hartford to bring international visitors to Glastonbury. She often hosted dinners at her home for visitors from as far away as Sudan, Pakistan, and Nepal to the delight of both her guests and her 4 small children. “Babies are an international language,” Betsy used to quip to her guests.

Betsy was a great lover of music – and sharing the music she loved with others. She was an active member of the Musical Club of Hartford for more than 50 years, serving for a period as Concert Chairman bringing rising talent to the Hartford area as well as performing with her cello in innumerable duos, trios, and quartets. She also organized a monthly musical program at the Congregational Church in South Glastonbury and was a member of Glastonbury’s Fine Arts Commission, arranging trips to the Hartford Symphony and setting up chamber concerts in Glastonbury. She was also a docent at the Wadsworth Atheneum for 25 years.

Most of all, she was a loving and devoted mother, grandmother, sister, daughter, and friend. She was the driving spirit that brought her family together for regular reunions. She is survived by her four children, Douglas Hamilton of Baltimore, MD, Jean Hamilton of Seattle, WA, Thomas Hamilton of Redding, CT, and Carol Gyurina of Melrose MA, as well as their spouses, her sisters, Louise Todd Cope of Berkeley, CA and Joey Gurl of Burnsville, NC, her sister-in-law, Lee Steele of Gloucester, MA, and 7 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren. Her husband of 53 years, Stuart Hamilton, predeceased her in 2006.

A memorial service will be held at The Congregational Church in South Glastonbury at 3 pm on Saturday, July 26 (949 Main St, South Glastonbury, CT). In lieu of flowers, donations can be send to Educate the Children International, P.O. Box 414, Ithaca, NY 14851 or www.etc-nepal.org.