Person:Betty Frost (1)

Betty Frost Hayes, 83, a philanthropist who headed a charitable trust that supported local and national education initiatives, died Sunday, Feb. 25 of kidney failure at Sibley Memorial Hospital.

Mrs. Hayes oversaw the James M. Johnston Trust for Charitable and Educational Purposes for about 10 years until 2006. The trust, which provides grants to educational institutions for faculty salaries and scholarships for nursing, is one of the largest donors to abut 65 schools in the Washington area, and it contributes to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mrs. Hayes was trustee, and her husband was a founding trustee.

Mrs. Hayes, a Washington native, graduated from the National Cathedral School and Mount Vernon College. She became a nurse's aide toward the end of World War II.

In 1946, she married Webb Cook Hayes III, great grandson of Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president of the United States. They were married for 53 years; he died in 1999. She was a dedicated golfer for many years and won numerous tournaments.

She was a member of the Chevy Chase Club, the Garden Club of America, the Sulgrave Club and the Metropolitan Club.

Survivors include four sons, Burke Frost Hayes of Chevy Chase, Stephen Austin Hayes of Potomac, and Webb Cook Hayes IV and Jeffrey Kent Hayes, both of Bethesda; a sister, Deedee Frost Peters of Warrenton; 12 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Originally published March 8, 2007