Betty Griffin

Betty Ann Griffin departed from this life while asleep at the Four Corners Health Center in Durango, CO, in the afternoon on April 18, 2014. She passed on Good Friday which was also her 85th birthday. Born on April 18, 1929, in Chicago, IL, she was the only child of Lillian and Stanley Felch. She was raised by her aunt upon the death of her mother when Betty was still young. Betty started working at the age of 14 while still in high school at a small food market, an ice cream shop, and a catalog store. After graduation, she worked for the CB&Q Railroad for 5 years as a secretary. Meanwhile, she was in training for the Olympic swim team, she got married, and she and her husband, Bernard L. Griffin (Bud), moved to Colorado in 1952. They chose Colorado Springs for their new home due to the lovely mountains so near, the wide open pastures to allow her to pursue her love of horses and the Flying W Ranch, and for the many job opportunities. She worked for Holly Sugar, Ent Air Force Base, and the Headquarters for the Air Defense Command until 1955 when daughter, Beth Ann, was born. In 1958, Betty was on of the first civilians employed at the USAF Air Academy as secretary to the Superintendent until 1961.
Betty and Bud moved to Black Forest in 1956. Another daughter, Barbara Anne, was born in 1963. In 1966, a son, Brett Alan, was born. After living in three houses, they decided to build another one themselves and started on construction in 1969 for the home on W. Coachman Drive. As they were building their home, their family, and their numerous pets and horses, Betty's community volunteerism started also. From 1956 to 2012, Betty had served as a volunteer for 23 different organizations within the Black Forest community. Having three children, she participated in many activities with her children, from volunteering at Wolford Elementary, PTO, Girl Scouts, 4H, Kit Carson Riding Club, the Colorado Horseman's Association, the Black Forest Gliderport, and even a Leader for Boy Scout Troop #70!
Through her early involvement with the Black Forest Community Club in 1966 as Chairman of the Historical Archival Committee, the Land Use Committee, the Committee to Preserve Black Forest, and many parades and festivities over the years, she departs us as an integral part of the way Black Forest looks today. She and the Committee to Preserve Black Forest successfully defeated the 1990 Transportation Plan for an alternate I-25 through Black Forest. She also performed a survey for the University of Colorado for the special needs of Black Forest Senior Citizen's living in the rural environment. Also, for the University of Colorado, she surveyed and mapped the cross-country skiing and hiking trails within the Black Forest Regional Park. She solicited petitions to initiate natural gas lines into the Black Forest, and was the Technical Advisor for preparation of the nomination of the Old Log School House to the National Register of Historic Places. She was a Pine Beetle Inspector and also a Weather Service Weatherspotter. She helped with fund-raising for the Black Forest Educational Opportunity Foundation and worked at many of the national, state, and local election polling places while also helping with the El Paso County Sheriff's Posse Auxiliary and the El Paso County Fair.
Betty started her long awaited education fulfillment entering the University of Colorado in 1976 and graduated in 1981 with a B.A. Degree in Geography and Environmental Studies, Magna Cum Laude, with highest distinction. She also received the award of Outstanding Underclass Student for that year. Furthermore, she received a Phi Beta Kappa distinction in 1980 in Boulder and graduated in Boulder in 1985 with a Masters of Arts degree in Geography and as a PhD candidate.
Her love of geography and the world took her on travels she had only dreamed of as a child. She hiked 6 of the 7 continents with only Antarctica to achieve. In the warmest places of her travels and with her longtime friend and partner, Richard A. Jagoda she took up scuba diving to discover even more of our wonderful world. Richard called her, “Betty Bubbles!"
She and Richard discovered the little village of Folsom, NM, where they shortly thereafter acquired the Folsom Hotel and began many years of renovations allowing them to apply and successfully achieve registration of the hotel on the National Register of Historic Places. She authored and published a New Mexico history book in 1988, called, “The Folsom Hotel Story.” She also has written articles for the New Mexico Magazine featuring the Folsom Hotel, the art of flint-knapping, and the Mandala Center.
Betty came to Durango in 2012 to be closer to her family while receiving long-term nursing care at Four Corners Health Center. Betty is survived by her daughter, Barbara A. McCall, of Hesperus, and son, Brett Alan Griffin (Spouse Jill Officer-Griffin), of Durango. Grandchildren include Mitchell R. Carter, Katelin A. Carter, and Paul Johnson. A son in law survives, Tom Carter, of Durango
She was preceded in death by a daughter, Beth Ann Carter.
A memorial service and celebration of her life will be officiated by Ken Downey, on Saturday, May 3, 2014, at Hood Mortuary, in Durango, at 2:00 PM. Her family also invites you to join them in a meal following the memorial service on the Hood Mortuary north lawn.