Betty E. Hags grew up in Monessen with a very tight-knit family. She began working for U.S. Steel Research Center in Monroeville where she met her supervisor, Joseph W. Hags, an engineer. The two fell in love, got married and resided in Export. They were avid churchgoers in their own respective religions. Jospeh was Roman Catholic and Betty was Lutheran, but the pair dedicated themselves to supporting each other’s faiths.
Both were very active community members. In addition to his devoted church life, Joseph was also a member of both the Iron and Steel Engineers and American Society of Metals. Joseph died on Jan. 16, 2003. The couple had no children.
Betty busied herself with her religious commitments and attended Salem Lutheran Church in Delmont nearly every Sunday. She always mentioned that she’d remember the church in her will. Her pastor, Kara Propst, remembered two things about Betty when they first met: that she had a warm smile with a hint of mischief and beautiful white angelic curls. Her church friends admired her ability to knit, quilt, craft, crochet and embroider. Betty developed many craft ideas for favors the church ladies made for seniors in Delmont through the Meals on Wheels program.
As she got older, Betty was moved to William Penn Care Center in Jeanette. While there, she was unable to attend church every Sunday. Pastor Propst would go visit her nearly every Sunday. Pastor Propst learned quite a bit about Betty during those visits, including that Betty never said a cross word about anyone and was fiercely independent and opinionated.
Betty expressed her one life regret was never being a mother. However, Pastor Propst argued that because Betty was seen as a mother and grandmother to all in her church.
Betty died on March 2, 2016, at age 95. To the surprise of her church, she left a sizable amount-- $800,000 --to benefit the tiny Salem Lutheran in Delmont. The donation stirred great emotion among the church community.
The Betty E. Hags and Joseph W. Hags Memorial Trust was established through The Pittsburgh Foundation in 2017 and continues to benefit Salem Lutheran Church.