The Hill School community is mourning the devastating loss of Beth Allain, assistant director of college counseling and head girls’ varsity golf coach, who passed away on Wednesday, May 8.

Update: A celebration of Beth’s life and her strong faith will be held on Saturday, September 21, 2024, at The Hill School’s Alumni Chapel, located at 860 Beech Street, Pottstown, PA 19464. Guests are invited to attend in person or join via livestream here. 

To celebrate Beth’s life, please wear colorful attire instead of black. Services will begin promptly at 10 a.m. The family will greet guests at Brookside Country Club from 11:30 am to 1:15 pm, immediately following the memorial service. 

In lieu of flowers or other gifts, the family requests donations be made to: FOCUS (https://infocus.org/donate/).

The following obituary was provided by the Allain family:

Elizabeth (Beth) McKay Allain, 61, of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, moved on to be with family and friends in Heaven on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Beth was born on October 16, 1962, to James and Eleanor McKay in Richmond, VA. Beth was the beloved wife of David Allain, with whom she shared her life, her family, and her unwavering faith in Jesus Christ. Beth and David are the proud parents of two children, Luke Allain and McKay Allain. Beth is also fondly remembered as a loving dorm parent, college counselor, and golf coach to hundreds of boarding school students who attended The Hill School. Beth is survived by her parents; her brother, Bo McKay, his wife, Karen, and their two sons, Max and Jake, and their families.

Beth attended Patrick Henry High School in Ashland, VA, and then went on to get her B.A. in Rhetoric and Communications from the University of Virginia (’85). After graduation, Beth began her 15-year career in television broadcasting as the host of Good Morning Richmond at WTVR (now WRIC), the ABC affiliate in Richmond. Her career in broadcasting included Reporter at WDEF (Chattanooga, TN), Noon and 5:30 Anchor at WTEN (Albany, NY), and finally news and sports Anchor and Reporter at KTVT (Dallas, TX). One of Beth’s passions was getting others to share their stories, which was a part of her success in broadcasting. Beth loved sports and as a sports anchor in Dallas had the opportunity to get to know many professional athletes. Her highlights included traveling to Japan to cover the Nagano Olympics; interviewing Arnold Palmer, Tiger Woods, and many other professional golfers; covering the Dallas Stars as they went on to win the Stanley Cup in 1999; and winning an Emmy in 1999 for her work as a Sports Anchor.

Beth and David met at a FOCUS summer program in 1988 where they both felt God’s calling to help high school students in independent schools explore the Christian faith and their relationship with God. In 2000, Beth and David moved to The Hill School in Pottstown, PA to fulfill that calling of ministry to and with boarding school students. Beth was a devoted mom to their children Luke ’18 and McKay ’23 and she also served with David as a dorm parent for 16 years at Hill. Beth was an avid golfer and six-time club champion at Brookside Country Club, so a natural choice in 2008 to coach the Hill Girls’ Golf team at its inception that year and for every year afterwards.

In 2012, Beth joined the College Counseling Office and in her 12 years in that role helped hundreds of Hill students navigate their individual college process and prepare them for their transition to life after Hill.  Through her years at Hill, Beth profoundly impacted the lives of so many Hill students—including those involved in the FOCUS program, her college counselees, her dormitory charges, her advisees, and the players on her golf teams.

Beth’s unwavering faith and immense love for her family, students, colleagues, and friends was evident in all she did. Her radiant smile, kindness, warmth, and genuine love for the Hill community and all she interacted with will be part of her legacy. 

Original posting from May 9, 2024:

Head of School Kathleen Devaney shared the announcement below with the School community, including parents and alumni, on Thursday morning. All classes and commitments were canceled on Thursday as the community gathered to begin to honor and remember Mrs. Allain. We will provide updates regarding service information as we receive it from the family. Please keep the entire Allain family in your thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time.

Dear Hill Community:

It is with profound sadness that I share the devastating news that our beloved faculty member, Beth Allain, passed away last night.

Mrs. Allain had been recently diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment at Fox Chase. Her team of doctors did everything they could to try to manage it, but the cancer had progressed too far.

Mrs. Allain’s unwavering faith and immense love for her family, students, colleagues, and friends was evident in all she did. Her radiant smile, kindness, warmth, and genuine love of this community will be her legacy.

Mrs. Allain joined the College Counseling Office in 2012, and in her 12 years in that role has helped hundreds of Hill students navigate their individual college process and prepare them for their transition to life after Hill. Mrs. Allain was a part of our Hill family long before joining the faculty. She first arrived at The Hill in 2000 with her husband, David, and infant son, Luke, when David joined the faculty as a curriculum integration specialist; he now serves as Hill’s director of technology and information systems. Mrs. and Mr. Allain served as dorm parents in Upper School and in Dell Village for a number of years and led the spiritual life FOCUS program. Mrs. Allain was a devoted mom to their children Luke ’18 and McKay ’23, and profoundly impacted the lives of so many Hill students—including her college counselees, her dormitory charges, her advisees, and the players on her varsity girls’ golf team.

The shock of this news is overwhelming, and we understand the need for extra support during this time of grieving for colleagues, friends, and students. We will not hold classes today and will work to support students and colleagues here on campus. We encourage students, families, and alumni in need of extra support or resources during this time to reach out to our Director of Counseling Lisa Roethling at counseling@thehill.org.

We will share additional information as we receive it from the family. Let us come together as a community to honor Mrs. Allain’s memory and lend our support to one another and the entire Allain family during this extremely difficult time.

In community,
Kathleen Devaney