Betty Stevenson Hamlin, born Elizabeth Dolores Stevenson on May 2, 1927, left us surrounded by her family on November 23, 2017 at the age of 90. Betty was an 8th generation San Diegan whose maternal ancestors came to San Diego from Spain in 1769 with the Portola Serra Expedition. Betty’s father, Frank Walter Stevenson, was a noted Architect who came to San Diego to be the chief architect of the Naval Training Center in Point Loma, now Liberty Station. Here, he met and married accomplished artist Elizabeth Dolores Greene. Among his many further works in San Diego was St. Agnes Catholic Church.
Betty attended Loma Portal Elementary, Point Loma High School and graduated from San Diego State College with a B.S. in Business Administration. At San Diego State she was a founding member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. In 1948, she married her high school sweetheart, William Robert “Bill” Hamlin, an Insurance Broker for the tuna fleet, and they raised four children. Bill passed away in 1978.
More than anything, Betty loved her family, who fondly referred to her as ‘Nanabet,’ her Catholic faith, and her community. She and Bill were members of the San Diego Yacht Club and their family has enjoyed generations of memories there. She was President of the San Diego Kappa Alpha Theta Alumnae Chapter and a member of the Junior League of San Diego and of the La Playa Unit of Rady Children’s Hospital Auxiliary since 1986. She was devoted to her children, grandchildren and to her extended family. She was a beloved matriarch and will be missed more than words can say.
Betty is survived by her four children, Lisa Hamlin Vieira with husband Glen and daughters Beth (Brian Christensen), Anne (Ryan Hollman), Kathy, and Marisa; Mari Hamlin Fink with husband Mike and sons Michael, James, and Frank; William Robert Hamlin, Jr. with wife Jane and children William III (Julie), Christine, Jack, Richard and Mary: and Steven Christopher Hamlin with wife Alicia and children Steven, Jr. (Krystal), Maikaila, Joshua, Annabelle and Rachel. In addition to her children and grandchildren, she leaves her seven great grandchildren, Dane, Connor, Ellie, Addie, Nate, Will and Westyn. She is also survived by her beloved sister Claudia Stevenson Davies and sister-in-law Peggy Hamlin. Betty was predeceased by her brother Frank Walter Stevenson, Jr., brother-in-law Jack Hamlin and sister-in-law Joanne Stevenson Bake.
A memorial will be held at St. Agnes Catholic Church, 1140 Evergreen Street, San Diego, 92106, on Monday, December 4, with rosary at 10:00 and Requiem Mass at 10:30. Interment will follow at Holy Cross Mausoleum.
Donations in Betty’s name may be made to Rady Children’s Hospital Celebration of Champions,
c/o PO Box 6096, SD 92166.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18