Betty Jane McClaflin

Celebration of Life For Betty Jane McClaflin

Betty Jane was an only child born to the late Mable Alice Hall and Edmond Adolf Hall on September 14, 1924 in Chicago, Illinois. She was known by many names-- Betty, Betty Jane, BJ, McClaflin, Teacher, Ms. Betty, Aunt Betty, and Cousin Betty.  All in all, she was greatly loved by her family, pupils, and many friends. If you were a friend of Betty’s, you were a friend for life.  Her recent Christmas card list included 208 relatives and friends as far back as Kindergarten and including some of the pupils she taught in Kindergarten and First Grade. 

When she was four years old, her grandparents came to live with them. Betty had many fond memories of her childhood even though it was during the “Great Depression.”  Despite the depression, she and her grandparents, especially her grandfather, had great times together.  After she graduated from high school in 1941, she went to work for Illinois Bell Telephone Company to save money for college.  At the time, the United States had entered World War II and she wanted to join the United States Naval Reserve, better known as the Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES).  However, her dad told her “no” because he did not want his only child going off to war.

 In 1944, Betty went to Illinois State Normal University which is now known as Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois.  She graduated in 1948 with a degree in Teaching.  That same year she started her teaching career in La Grange, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.  She spent four years there before moving to Hoopeston, Illinois to teach kindergarten. While in Hoopeston, Illinois, she met and later married John R. McClaflin in 1959. John’s job with Martin Marietta took them to Colorado, so off they went! In Colorado, Betty got a job teaching Kindergarten and First Grade with the Englewood Public Schools.  She worked there until retirement from teaching in 1985.

Betty and John loved to spend time at their mountain cabin near Dillon, Colorado -- hiking and enjoying the wonders of the West.  John loved gardening and Betty loved caring for their beautiful flowers and harvesting the vegetables to make bread and butter pickles, strawberry jam, and lots of other good food.  Betty was an extensive traveler to interesting places such as  Egypt, Europe, Sweden, Japan, Hawaii and a host of other places too numerous to name.

She was very active in St. George’s Episcopal Church for nearly 50 years until it closed in 2009.  While there, she worked on the altar guild and taught all ages in Sunday School.  After St. George’s Episcopal Church closed, Betty became a devout parishioner at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church. She joined Daughters of the King when she moved to Denver. She held many different offices in the sororities of Beta Sigma Phi, Alpha Delta Kappa, and Alpha Xi Delta.  She was very active with the Retired Teachers Association, quilting group, and bridge club.  She enjoyed many luncheons with her sororities, the Idle Rich Group and many other friends.

She and John had been married 55 years when he passed away in 2014.  A year later she moved to Holly Creek Christian Living Community where she enjoyed life with many friends-- attending Church and Sorority functions, playing bingo and other card games, and listening to Poetry.  On Wednesday, March 28, 2018, Betty answered the call home.  She will be missed by a host of relatives and life-long friends.

Memorial services will be held Wednesday -  April 11, 2018 11:00 a.m. at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church - 1401 E. Dry Creek Road Centennial, CO 80122. Interment of cremains to follow at 2:30 p.m. at Ft. Logan National Cemetery.

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