Mary Elizabeth “Betty” McClellan Hawley – who traveled in Denver’s elite social circles and adopted the city’s symphony orchestra as her cause – will be remembered at a memorial service at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 1270 Poplar St. at 1 p.m. Saturday.
She died July 19 at age 86.
Born in Denver, she attended local public schools and graduated from the University of Colorado. After graduation, she shocked some of her socialite friends by marrying lawyer and former rodeo cowboy Robert Cross Hawley Sr.
“They tried to warn her off me,” Robert Hawley said.
“They thought because of my tan that I was part Indian,” he said.
Betty Hawley admired her husband’s pluck and stamina. During his rodeo days, she traveled to cheer in the grandstands, watching him in the bull riding, saddle bronc and bareback bronc competitions. It was hard to say who was prouder of the snazzy red convertible that Robert Hawley bought with his winnings.
During the early years of their marriage, Betty Hawley taught English in Denver public schools.
She kept a close eye on her students, noting who played hooky. She frequently visited truants’ homes in the evening to shame them into returning to class.
When she became a mother, Hawley shifted from the classroom to volunteering on parent committees at Graland Country Day School.
Hawley also turned her energies to serving on committees that raised money for the March of Dimes, the Colorado Heart Association and other causes.
One particular interest was the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. For more than 30 years, she served on the committee of the Denver Debutante Ball, a symphony fundraiser, and chaired the ball in 1967 and 1968.
“She went door-to-door in Capitol Hill, raising money for the Debutante Ball,” Robert Hawley said.
“Of course,” he added, “that was in the days when you could do that.”
Betty Hawley was a handsome woman, with upswept dark hair, arched eyebrows and a ready smile. Her photo often appeared in local society columns.
She was a fastidious dresser, taking a keen interest in fashion, and had once worked at the elite Montaldo’s shop in downtown Denver.
At Christmas, she loved dressing up her home by installing trees in each room and spreading fairy lights everywhere, including on the pear tree she made for her Hilltop home’s front door.
In the early 1970s, she staged a living nativity scene on her front porch with neighborhood children representing the holy family, angels and shepherds and using live sheep and donkeys.
Hawley began suffering from severe arthritis in her 30s and endured seven surgeries for joint replacements.
She became an ardent supporter of the Rocky Mountain Arthritis Foundation and served on its board from 1976 to 1986.
In addition to her husband, survivors include son Robert Cross Hawley Jr. of Clarkston, Mich.; daughters Mary Virginia Doublebower of Carlsbad, Calif., and Laurie McClellan Hawley of Denver; and two grandchildren.
Staff writer Claire Martin can be reached at 303-820-1477 or cmartin@denverpost.com.
