Betty was born March 13, 1921, in Ridgewood, N.J., the daughter of Andrew and Emily Brown Phelps. She grew up in New Jersey, Illinois and Pennsylvania, and spent her summers at the family cottage on Lake Wentworth in Wolfeboro, N.H.
She was a graduate of Northfield School for Girls and Mt. Holyoke College, and she attended Drew Theological Seminary, where she was studying for the ministry when she met William D. Geoghegan. The couple was married in Pittsburgh in 1946.
Betty and Bill moved to Brunswick in 1954, when he joined the Bowdoin faculty. In Brunswick, Betty was an active member of First Parish Church and a member of the Jung Center. Her many interests included reading, theological study, music, spiritual exploration and nutrition. She was a trained vocalist who loved singing, whether in the church choir or teaching silly songs to her grandchildren. She enjoyed sewing, crocheting and swimming.
Betty’s beloved “red camp” and “white camp” were always close to her heart, and her family will forever cherish the memory of her religiously swimming her strokes every day in the clear and calm waters of Lake Wentworth.
A child of the Great Depression, Betty took great pride in running an efficient and economical household, practicing “reduce, re-use and recycle” long before it became fashionable. But above all else, she dedicated herself to being a loving wife, mother and grandmother.
She is predeceased by a son, William D. Geoghegan II; and a sister, Emily May Phelps Atwood.
She is survived by her husband, William of Brunswick; a son, Andrew Phelps Geoghegan and his wife, Gloria Pinza of Cape Elizabeth; two daughters, Grace Wilson and her husband, the Rev. Thomas Wilson of Elizabeth City, N.C., and the Rev. Emily Geoghegan and her partner, the Rev. Leanne Tigert of Concord, N.H.; a daughter-in-law, Abbie Brown of Brunswick; and nine grandchildren, Alfred, Emily, and Frank Wilson, Kate and Joseph Geoghegan, Rachel and Sarah Umberger, and Caroline and Will Geoghegan.
Friends and family are invited to visit 3-6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 29, 2013, at the Brackett Funeral Home, 29 Federal St., Brunswick. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30, at the First Parish Church, Maine Street, Brunswick.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to First Parish Church, 9 Cleaveland St., Brunswick; or Curtis Memorial Library, 23 Pleasant St., Brunswick. Condolences and memories can be expressed at www.brackettfuneralhome.c om.
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