UTAH, May 11, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) -- Elaine Sharon Hansen Hatch, the widow of former U.S. Senator Orrin G. Hatch, died on Saturday at the age of 91.
Elaine Hansen Hatch, born to a family of wheat farmers in Newton, graduated from North Cache High School in Logan. She attended Brigham Young University, where she met her future husband, whom she married in 1957.
"Elaine said her favorite career was being a mother," says an obituary shared by The Hatch Center.
"When Orrin decided to run for the U.S. Senate, Elaine, despite not wanting to move from Utah to Washington, D.C., wholeheartedly supported him and continued to do so for 42 years.
"Elaine was true to her roots and wasn’t influenced by the trappings of political life. She was humble and kind. She focused on her children and served in many church leadership roles. She served in the temple weekly for 29 years and considered it her favorite place to be other than at home with family."
In her travels around the world, "she was a great ambassador for her faith," the statement says.
"Everyone who met Elaine was struck by her genuine interest in their lives. Elaine rarely talked about herself, despite the amazing life she lived. Her posterity will be blessed by the journals she kept throughout her life.
"When Orrin retired in 2019, Elaine was excited to live near family again."
The Hatches had six children, who gave them 23 grandchildren and 44 great-grandchildren, "with two more on the way," the statement says. Funeral arrangements are pending.
