Betty S. Collins

Betty Ann Wright Scanlan Collins passed away at her home on April 12, 2019. Surviving are her husband of 44 years, Gerald E. Collins and her devoted sister and best friend, Marie Wright Wendt. Also surviving are her loving sons William J. Scanlan III and his wife, Marilia; Robert M. Scanlan; Thomas R. Scanlan and his wife, Dorothy; John P. Scanlan and his wife, Kathi; and stepson Steven Collins and his wife, Kim. Betty also leaves five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Betty was born in Washington DC on June 17, 1922. She spent her childhood in Chapel Hill, NC. The family returned to Washington when she was in her teens where she attended and graduated from Eastern High School.

At the beginning of World War II, Betty found employment at the Pentagon. As a war-time effort, military personnel were entertained at the Stage Door Canteen. There, she met her future husband, William J. Scanlan, Jr. They married on March 24, 1944 at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center Memorial Chapel. At the war’s end they moved to Montclair, NJ. The untimely death of her husband brought her back to the Washington DC area in 1962.

Betty was an agent, secretary, and treasurer for Hermitage Real Estate Inc., a company of women selling new homes such as Foxhall on Georgia Ave, the first houses in Stone Gate called Crimson Oak, Peachwood on New Hampshire Ave, Harker Square off Tuckerman Lane, and Chresthaven on Old Columbia RD.

Descended from the first families of the Chapel Hill area, she was a member of The DAR Erasmus Perry chapter located in Silver Spring. Betty’s passions were gardening, bird watching, genealogy research, photography, and spending time in her beloved Cape May, NJ.

A private family gathering will be held at a future date.