Elizabeth "Betty" Jean Jones

Betty Jones (87) passed away from natural causes surrounded by family and friends on February 15, 2022. Betty was born on July 17, 1934 in Benkelman Nebraska, and was the 4th of 11 children of James Herbert “Herb” O’Dell and Mary O’Dell (Sherbondy). The O’Dell family moved to Laramie Wyoming shortly after Betty was born, where she lived until early adulthood. In 1956, Betty married William “Bill” Jones and together they had 5 children during their 18-year marriage. All of Betty’s children and their spouses survive her: Nina (Scott) Kunze of Fort Collins, George (Celeste) Jones of Lamoni, IA, Roy (Leesa) Jones of Loveland, Todd (Alena) Jones of Tucson, AZ, and Troy (Jessica) Jones of Fort Collins. She is also survived by 9 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren, her brother Allen “Bud” O’Dell, sister Eilene Speer, and many other relatives and friends who loved her.

Betty made her home in Fort Collins most of her adult life. She was an inspiration to us all with her steadfast Christian principles and kind and generous demeanor.

After finding herself single in her 40s, Betty never re-married, but instead developed into an impressively independent woman. She worked for 19 years at CSU, a little more than half of that time as a secretary in the Wind Engineering program, and later as the receptionist at the key desk in the Facilities Department.

One of her favorite hobbies was reading, which is how she spent much of her free time. When her eyesight failed, she continued her avid “reading” hobby by listening to audio books provided by the Colorado Library for the Blind.

After retirement Betty became a dedicated volunteer for several organizations. She was an active member of the Community of Christ Church, where she volunteered for 35 years as the CFO/bookkeeper for the Fort Collins congregation. Betty also spent many years volunteering for VITA, helping prepare tax returns for community members, for Bright Beginnings assisting new mothers with care packages and mothering advice, and for Cottonwood Elementary School, assisting elementary age kids with one-on-one reading help.

A celebration of life ceremony will be held on Saturday February 26, 4 p.m., at Heart of the Rockies Church in Fort Collins at Trilby & Lemay. Masks will be required.

The family is suggesting that those who wish to make a memorial donation in Betty’s honor choose one of the following options:

Send your donation via PayPal Friends and Family to [email protected]. Or mail a check made payable to Community of Christ. Mark in the subject line that the contribution is for Fort Collins as a Memorial for Betty Jones. The address to send the check is:

Community of Christ International Headquarters

ATTN: Presiding Bishopric

1001 West Walnut Street

Independence, MO 64050