Hannum, Loretta O (O’Meara)
On February 24, 2022, Loretta (O'Meara) Hannum of East Hartford, passed peacefully in her sleep. She leaves behind 2 daughters, Cheryl DePrest (Bruce DePrest) of Wethersfield, CT and Kristin Hayes (Chris Hayes) of Dublin, OH, 3 grandchildren, Shannon McGinnis (daughter of Tom McGinnis), Connor Hayes and Devin Hayes, and many lifelong friends (you know who you are). She was pre-deceased by her husband of 56 years, Samuel Hannum, her sister Marjorie Taylor and brother Bill O'Meara.
A private memorial is planned and her ashes will be spread by her family at a later date. She chose to be cremated because it was her last chance to have a smoking hot body. (It will come as no surprise to anyone who actually knew her that she made us promise to include that last statement.)
Born August 20, 1939 to a feisty, French-Canadian mother and, artistic, laid-back Irish-American father, she inherited the best of each. She was funny, patient, thoughtful, crafty & athletic. She was a hugger, problem-solver, prank-player, party-thrower and a hoarder of sneakers. Some Moms are fancy, but Rett was more at home on a ball field than in a ball gown. She was one hell of a first base player for many, many years and, after hanging up her glove, decided to pick up martial arts in her 50s, reaching the rank of brown belt. One thing she was extremely proud of was watching women leave her self-defense classes with confidence.
She was the “neighborhood mom” when the girls were young and then went back to work. She spent 25 years at the EH Parks & Rec department, traveling between parks in the summer, developing new programs & tackling any challenge she was presented with. She also worked as a security guard in the middle school for many years, helping kids, defusing fights with her humor when possible, and using her martial arts moves when it wasn't. She was pretty badass.
She told us often that she had a good life and her greatest joy was making others smile. She remembered every joke she ever heard (most of them naughty) and was a born storyteller. Her stories will be missed.