1947 – 2014

CINCINNATI — Susan Hathaway Boydston, Ph.D., 66, of Cincinnati, Ohio, died Friday, July 11.

She was born Dec. 17, 1947, in Boston, Mass., to the late Mary Lee Bird Hathaway and William Dodd Hathaway.

She was the mother of Elizabeth Britton Larkin of Sarasota, Fla., Lt. Edward “Ned” Hathaway Boydston, U.S. Navy, and Alexander “Alec” Dodd Boydston of Leiden, Netherlands; grandmother of Kai Benjamin Larkin; sister of Fred W. Hathaway (Lee Broadfoot) of Washington, D.C.; and aunt of William and Benjamin Hathaway. She was formerly married to Richard Boydston.

She attended public schools in Auburn, was a graduate of George C. Marshall High School, Falls Church, Va., obtained a B.A. in psychology (1969) from Tufts University, an M.A.T. in elementary education (1972) from Simmons College, an M.A. in creative writing (1994), and a Ph.D. in English literature (2004) from University of Cincinnati.

She was a member of Association for Psychoanalytic Thought, PsyArt Foundation, Modern Language Association, Cincinnati Tennis Club. She was the recipient of several writing awards and honors. She was a teacher in the Cincinnati public schools, an English instructor at the University of Cincinnati and held numerous other English and reading teaching work over the years. She was the author of ‘The Growth of a Self: A Psychoanalytic Reading of Beowolf’ (2004).

Susan was a dear friend to many and had a wide array of connections she valued deeply. She was always the life of the party. Some of her happiest times were spent with her family in Maine and enjoying her grandson, Kai. Susan had a lifelong passion for learning, teaching and writing. She was committed to growing as a person and had a gift for persistence in spite of obstacles. Above all, Susan was a loving and tender mother who took great joy in raising her children and delighting in their company as adults. Her physical presence will be missed greatly but her loving spirit will live on in all who knew her.