LINCOLN: Bettyanne (Hayden) Geiger, died on Monday, January 18, 2016 after a long illness at her home in Lincoln in the presence of husband, family and caregivers.
She was born on December 3, 1920 in New Britain, CT, attended Marymount College in Tarrytown, NY and, after graduation, taught for a number of years at Moorland Hill School in Kensington, and also taught in Moodus, CT, and worked as a reporter for the New Britain Herald. She held a variety of jobs in New York City before coming to Boston in 1951 to become a librarian at Metcalf and Eddy, a local engineering firm. In Boston, she met Karl Geiger, marrying him on October 16, 1954. Together they had 5 children, 4 of whom, Christopher, Jonathan, Elisabeth Hattemer and Stephen, survive her. A fifth son, Andrew, died in 1990. A total of 11 grandchildren are also living, and through her surviving sister Margaret Chambers, she has a total of 3 nieces and nephews and 6 grandnieces and nephews.
She was a founding member of Group 20, an acting group in Connecticut, and was also an enthusiastic Wayland member of the Shakespeare Club, which reads and discusses plays. Always interested in teaching and writing, she worked with local schools, reported for the Wayland Town Crier, and worked for several years at The Harvard Business School. A devoted mother and talented cook, who produced her own cookbook, she and family lived in Wayland for 45 years, with and intermediary 3 year sojourn in France, until 2008, when she and her husband downsized and moved to Lincoln. She was the consummate wife, mother and grandmother – her passion for family and friends was always evident and strongly held. She passes on her strong integrity and love of life to her children.
At the request of her family, there will be no funeral home visitations.
A funeral Mass will be held at Good Shepherd Parish at St. Zepherin’s Church, 99 Main St (Rte 27), Wayland on Tuesday, January 26, 2016 at 10:00 am. A reception will follow in the Parish Center at the church.
There will be a private burial in the family lot in Wayland’s North Cemetery.
Funeral arrangements have been made through the John C. Bryant Funeral Home of Wayland.
Donations in her memory may be made to Good Shepherd Parish at St. Ann’s Church, Parish Office, 99 Main St, Wayland, MA 01778 or the Parmenter Foundation, 266 Cochituate Road, Wayland, MA 01778.