Betty Jo McGregor

Betty McGregor passed on to heaven at the age of 96 ½ on May 1, 2024, of natural causes. She passed in her favorite chair at home. She moved to Colorado in 1953 and lived in Federal Heights since 1985.

Betty was born in Harmony Mississippi on a 300-acre farm. She was the youngest of 4 children to William Frank and Dollie Belia Ball. Her and her siblings were brought up raising their own food and sewing their own clothes. They grew all their own vegetables and fruit on the farm and raised chickens and had cows for milking. Everything they had to eat was grown on the farm. They would barter for other times with neighboring farms and stores. When Betty and her siblings when not at school they were working picking cotton in the field with 100 degrees and 100% humidity. They picked cotton till their fingers bled. It was very hard work for the children. This would set the work ethic standard that Betty lived by. Her daddy would read the bible to her each night by candlelight. They were the first in the area to have gas lights installed in the home for lighting. Betty has seen many changes in America over her lifetime but never owned a cell phone or computer.

Betty Married Gerald McGregor and they moved to Louisiana where they lived for a period while Betty attended Beauty College. They then traveled around the US while Gerald was looking for work. They had 4 children. The oldest was Sammi Carol, she died when she was 3 months old of a heart defect. Larry was born in Brownsville Texas, Jim was born in Ohio and Christie was born in Colorado where they settled for the rest of their lives. Bettys roots were deep in the south and she kept in close contact with all her relatives in Mississippi and Louisiana. She loved to hear their accents and all the latest news when they would call her on the phone. She cherished their visits. It was important to her to keep in touch with family.

Betty then got her beautician license in Colorado. Her license was #1000 which she kept active into her 90s while still doing a select few customers. She worked as a hairdresser her entire life and when the children were young, she also worked at Millers Bakery in Commerce City where they owned a home. Some of Bettys clients became lifelong friends. Betty liked to tell funny stories and share dirty little jokes with her “ladies” and make them chuckle while she had them in her chair. Or share a story about one of the romance novels she was reading.

Over the years Betty worked in different shops around North Denver and then bought a place in Federal Heights where she had her shop installed in her home (Jimbo of course made that happen). She had lived and worked in this home in Federal Heights since 1985. Betty finally closed the shop when she was over 90 years old, as her blood pressure instability made it hard for her to stand for long periods of time.

Betty’s health has been up and down over the years, but she overcame several different Cancer bouts (5) separate times, Gall Bladder surgery, broken arm, and a broken leg in recent years. All to fully recover and get back to a steady state of health each time. She had the will and determination of many Oxen. She had more stamina and desire to accomplish things in her life than most all of us put together. She never gave up on anything. She set her mind to something, and she just got it done. If she did not know how to do it, she would figure it out. And you should just do the same. No reason for anyone to slow her down. You just needed to keep up.

Betty spent almost every holidays at family gatherings which she loved to see everyone at. She would rarely miss any gathering. She loved to have visitors come to her house, which is where her sanctuary was, and where she was the most comfortable. As Betty survived all her sisters and brother, her nieces and nephews looked to her for advice and information on how her siblings’ lives had been when they were children. Betty wrote this story “Betty’s story” and it was written in her talking style to capture her southern roots way of talking.

Betty’s favorite hobby was painting. She has many paintings on her web site that can be viewed on FineArtAmerica.com and search for artist Betty McGregor. Betty also loved to crochet, knit, make quilts, and sewed dresses for the grand girls. Back in the 1960s she also was known for making nieces and neighbor girls Barbie doll clothes. That is still a topic of discussion to this day. There was no end to the depth of complexity of Bettys creativity and determination.

Betty also loved to garden, she grew vegetables each year and shared the crops with neighbors and family. Betty had a green thumb for all plants but most significantly flowers and roses were her specialty. In the summer her yard was always alive with many roses, Pop up Lilys, Purple trumpets, and many snap dragons and the johnny jump ups that would come up volunteer.

Betty also liked to cook and make sure she kept up with feeding the Federal Heights Fire dept and police depts zucchini and pumpkin bread. She always said, “Well they will haul me out of here one day!” Thank goodness as they did save her a few times. She also loved to make Mardi gras cakes as no one could believe how good they were and so hard to make!

Betty was loved by her remaining relatives in Mississippi and Louisiana.

She will be missed by all; Heaven has a Diamond that is irreplaceable here on earth. Her family grieves for the loss of her presence each day.

She is survived by son Larry McGregor: Grandchildren, Gerry, Larry Jr, Jody, Brenda and Dillon. Great Grandchildren: Isaiah, Elias, Darlene, Moses, Donald ( J.D.), Brandon, Joshua, Jaedyn, Abire, Issac.

Survived by son Jim McGregor & Carlen: Grandchildren, Justin and Brianna.

Survived by Daughter Christie & Walter: Grandchildren Kayla, Elliot, and Keaton. Great Grand Children- Lenabelle & Cassia.

She is survived by her Beagle dog: Buddy.