Elizabeth Flather Haddad, 84

June 08, 2024

Elizabeth Flather Haddad (Betsey), age 84, of Willow Street, Pennsylvania (adjacent to Lancaster), died on June 8, 2024, after a long illness. She was a dedicated educator and a loving daughter, sister, wife, mother, and grandmother.

Betsey was born in Boston in 1939 to John Rogers Flather and Elizabeth Newell Flather and grew up in Lowell, Massachusetts. She was the fifth and youngest child in her family, having two brothers and two sisters: Katherine, Roger, Alice, and Newell. She attended the Belvidere Elementary School in Lowell through the 8th grade and then the Winsor School in Boston through the 12th grade. During these years, she loved summer camp in Maine. A good athlete, she played field hockey, lacrosse, and tennis. In 1961, she graduated from Wheaton College, majoring in history. She subsequently received a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Harvard University.

Betsey’s first teaching job took her to Washington, D.C., where she taught history at the Mount Vernon Seminary, a school for young women. In 1964, she joined the initial staff for VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) for the first two years of that government program. It was in Washington that she met Richard Haddad (Dick), the man with whom she would spend the next six decades of her life. They were married in Lowell in 1966 before settling in the Washington area, finally in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Their first son, Richard Beatty Haddad, was born in 1967, and their second, John Rogers Haddad, in 1969. She and her family were active members in the Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church. In the early 1980s, she returned to the workforce as a beloved first and second grade teacher. She taught at three schools in the Washington area, completing her teaching career at the Washington Episcopal School. She retired in the early 2000s.

In her retirement, she especially enjoyed her grandchildren, her cats, and gardening. She was also active in the Audubon Society, earning, in 2013, after considerable coursework, a Certificate of Accomplishment in Natural History Field Studies. In 2018, she and Dick moved to the Lancaster, Pennsylvania, area to be near their son John and his family. She resided in Willow Valley Communities until her death in 2024. Betsey is survived by her husband; her son, Rich; his wife, Sandy; their three sons, Alex, Tim, and Sam; her son, John; his wife, Minhui (Catherine); their son, William; and their daughter, Elizabeth. She is also survived by her sisters-in-law, Kate Flather and Norma Haddad Eagleton, and numerous nieces and nephews.