Betty Hastoglis was born in Abington,
PA more years ago than she likes to admit. After graduating from Penn State she
worked at a large Philadelphia bank until marrying her Tony and becoming a Navy
Wife for the next 27 years of her life.
Betty
and Tony's five children arrived during the first seven years
of their marriage! With Tony off at sea for 6 to 7 months at a time, Betty
often had to be 'the super Mom' carrying the load of raising 5 growing kids all
by her self as well as having to move from place to place every couple of years
due to frequent reassignments. These included Groton/New London
CT, Norfolk and Virginia Beach VA (3 times), San Francisco CA, Pearl Harbor
Hawaii, Montgomery AL, Charleston SC, Washington DC and finally to
Charlottesville where she says she has found her home at last.
Despite her child rearing duties,
she continued to be active everywhere she lived volunteering at various service
activities too numerous to list. She also volunteered at organizations at the
bases and cities where Tony was assigned. Betty’s leadership qualities resulted
in her being an officer in most of the organizations in which she served.
And even with all of this, Betty managed to weave in work
outside the home to help pay the college tuitions for all 5 of her children. Her
period with the Greater Norfolk Corporation was the most significant of these
jobs. Their challenge was to lead the Public-Private partnership whose main
goal was the improvement of the City of Norfolk. If you have visited Norfolk
recently, you will see they were successful.
In 1984, when Tony retired from the Navy and went to work
at Sperry Marine, the family moved to Charlottesville and Betty soon got
involved again. In the ensuing years, while she was still able, she volunteered
with numerous organizations including the Republican Committee, UVA Hospital and
Blue Ridge Hospital. She became a member of (and usually an officer in) the
Charlottesville Woman’s Club, Holy Comforter Catholic Church Council and
of course, ACRWL.
For those of us who have had the privilege of working with
and getting to know her, Betty Hastoglis is not only a 'super mom' but a 'super
friend and co-worker' as well. ACRWL is indeed fortunate that Betty found
her home here in Charlottesville!
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