Bets Hobin

PORTLAND – Bets Hobin, loving wife, mother, and accomplished horsewoman, passed away peacefully at the age of 100, in Portland, on Aug. 25, 2025.

Bets was born in Boston, Mass. on May 9, 1925 as Betty Anne Babcock, daughter of Preston and Blanche Babcock. She grew up in Waban, Mass., attending grammar and high school there. She later attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. where she met Bill Hobin, a Naval Air Corps officer who was returning from active duty in World War II. Bill had spent two years stationed in Guam where he lead air-sea rescue operations.

Bets and Bill were married one year later in Los Angeles, Calif. at which time Bill returned to his studies of cinema and movie directing at the University of Southern California. With Bets’ unending support, he became a pioneer in a new medium called “television”, and directed many popular programs, including “Your Show of Shows” with Sid Caesar, “Sing Along with Mitch”, and “The Red Skelton Hour”. During this time, Bets raised a family – a daughter, Candace and a son, Chuck – while pursuing a life-long love of horses.

For many years, Bets trained and showed American Saddlebred horses, and in retirement she enjoyed riding the trails of southwestern Arizona with her many friends. At the age of 87, she was on horseback one day when she decided it was her last ride. She never lost her passion for her hobby, though; a small plaque she kept on her kitchen wall read, “If there are no horses in Heaven, I’m not going!”

Services for Bets will be private.

To share memories of Bets or to leave the family an online condolence, please visit http://www.athutchins.com