One of five children and the only daughter born to Bessie Ann Townsend and Henry Clemons Meeker,[7][8][9] Hathaway was from Vancouver, British Columbia.
[6] She was educated at Victoria Normal School[10] and graduated from the University of British Columbia, where she acted in productions of the Varsity Players Club.
[10] On Broadway, she portrayed Mrs. Ritter in A Slight Case of Murder (1935), a fitter in The Women (1936), and an usherette in The Fabulous Invalid (1938).
She also had roles on Young Widder Brown, True Story Tales of Tomorrow,[16] Modern Romances,[17] and Seth Parker.
Sculptor Pietro Montana created the life-size sculpture of the nun, who was being considered for canonization.