Betty Jo Edwards

She was born April 5, 1930 in Grand Junction, CO to Wayne and Nina (Barker) Edwards. She attended Appleton schools, graduating from Appleton High School in 1948. She went on to attend Western State College to earn a BA in Education in 1954. She later returned to WSC to earn MAs in Education and History in 1961. She taught in elementary schools for her entire career, starting in Burns, Colorado in a two-room log cabin with grades 1-5 in the same class. Two years later she joined the staff of the newly-formed Fruitvale Elementary in Grand Junction, where she was a favorite with students and staff alike for the next 35 years.

Although she never married or had children of her own, Betty was deeply devoted to her family. She was a long-time caregiver for her grandmothers, aunts and parents, and prayer warrior sister for her brothers Bobby (Afton) and Donald (Muriel) and their children.

Betty approached life with passion and determination, whether it was her love for travel, rose gardening, or reading, or her loathing for rodents and reptiles. Known for her quick wit, dry humor, and sharp tongue, life with Betty was never dull. She was active in her sorority Delta Kappa Gamma, the Mesa County Republican Women, and her churches.

Betty was preceded in death by her parents, brothers, nephew Jeffrey Edwards, and her beloved Bichon, Missy. She is survived by nephews William, Douglas, Edward, and Glenn Edwards, and numerous great-nieces and nephews and their children. The family wants to thank her special caregiver, Sandra Bell, for loving Betty like a member of her own family. She will be sorely missed, but our loss is heaven’s gain. Her remains will be interred at a later date alongside her parents at Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Grand Junction.