KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii – Margaret Howlett Hasty, known as “Susan” after the brown-eyed Susan flowers, which were reflected in her own dark eyes, died peacefully at the age of 91 on Oct. 26, 2023 in Hawaii. Susan had moved to Kona on the Big Island in December 2015 where she resided at The Regency at Hualalai.

Susan was born in Cambridge, Mass., the daughter of Duncan Howlett and Margaret Merritt Howlett. She grew up in Newton, New Bedford, and Boston, Mass. and was a graduate of Beaver Country Day School in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Her summers were joyously spent in Maine at the Luther Gulick Camps where she swam and canoed in Sebago Lake and taught weaving under the guidance of Dottie Gulick. In 1953, she earned her B.A. in Chemistry from Mount Holyoke College.

She was proud to have initially worked as a research chemist at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Mass. and later at the Dewey and Almy Chemical Company. After her marriage to Rev. Richard S. Hasty, Susan graciously took on an active role as the minister’s wife during her former husband’s tenure at the Unitarian Church in Fall River (Massachusetts), First Parish Church of Duxbury (Massachusetts), and First Parish in Portland. She is fondly remembered by those congregations as a warm and welcoming hostess to many gatherings and meetings in the family’s home, her large pots of baked beans which always sold out at church fairs, and her gifts of loaves of homemade bread. She selected the hymns for each week’s worship service and was an active participant in the church women’s programs of her time.

In 1987, she earned a B.A. in Business Administration and Management from Westbrook College which was in alignment with her excellent mathematical and organizational skills. In 1994, she earned her M.A. in Education from the University of Southern Maine and taught adults English as a Second Language in Portland. Susan deeply valued her students as individuals and was honored to be included in many of their family and cultural celebrations. She also served the Greater Portland community for many years on the Board of Managers for 75 State Street, on the Board of Directors of the Victoria Society of Maine (Victoria Mansion), as a Peer Support Group Facilitator at the Center for Grieving Children, and with the Village Improvement Society in Yarmouth. For many years, she volunteered at Maine Medical Center’s Flower Box, putting her love in the creation of bouquets in the celebration or care of a patient.

Susan’s proudest achievement and fiercest commitment was as a mother and grandmother. She is remembered for her gentle smile, sly wink, loving guidance, intelligence, and quiet strength.

Susan is survived by her three children and their spouses, Laurie Hasty and Benson Gray (Falmouth), Chris and Jacqueline Hasty (Houston Texas), Vicki Hasty and Dave Honma (Kona, Hawaii); and her six grandchildren, Danielle Whitley, Samuel Gray, Ruth Gray, Margot Hasty, Nicolas Hasty, and Louisa Duggan. Her extended family includes Buffy Duhig (Needham Mass.), John and Sybil Duhig (Simi Valley, Calif.), Albert and Lois Howlett (Chapel Hill, N.C.), Dick and Susan Howlett (Davidsonville Md.), Lynn and Steve Korth (Greer, S.C.); and many cousins; nieces and nephews.

Susan was lovingly cared for by her daughter, Vicki Hasty, and the staff of Hospice of Kona. There will be a public memorial service on Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024 at 11 a.m. at The First Parish in Needham, Unitarian Universalist, 23 Dedham Ave, Needham, Mass. Susan will be interred next to her mother in the Newton Cemetery and Arboretum (Massachusetts) in a private ceremony.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to:

The Center for

Grieving Children,

555 Forest Ave.,

Portland ME 04101

cgcmaine.org; and

Hospice of Kona, Inc.,

75-5925 Walua Rd., Suite 101,

Kailua-Kona, HI 96740

hospiceofkona.org

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