Obituary of Betty Bangs

Elizabeth (Betty) Jane Paisley Bangs died on April 2, 2020 at Frasier Health Care in Boulder, CO at the age of 101. Betty was born in Marion, IL on July 17, 1918. She was the daughter of Oldham Paisley and Annetta Nourse Paisley. She was the oldest of three Paisley children, Annette (Anne) Porteous of Carmel, IN and Joseph (Bill) William, now deceased, of Houston, TX Betty attended schools in Marion and in Washington, DC. She graduated from William Woods College in Fulton, MO and received her BA from the University of Iowa where she was a member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority. She received her MA from Northwestern University. Betty taught speech and directed plays at Carmi, IL high school and was a speech therapist for White County, IL, where Carmi is located. It was in Carmi where she met her husband-to-be, F. Kendrick (Ken) Bangs. They were married at Betty’s home in Marion, Illinois in 1941. Betty and Ken were married for 67 years, until Ken passed away in November of 2011 at Frasier Meadows Retirement Community where they had lived for many years. During World War II, while her husband was in Europe and her father was serving in the South Pacific, Betty continued to teach in Carmi, IL and at Francis Shimer College in Illinois. When World War II ended and upon Ken’s return from Europe, Betty and Ken moved to Boulder where Ken joined the CU School of Business faculty, and Betty became an instructor in the Speech and Hearing Department at CU. While Ken was studying for his doctorate at the University of Indiana, Betty taught in the “English for Foreign Students” program there. Betty and Ken returned to Boulder and CU where they have made their home ever since. Betty and Ken raised two sons, John Kendrick, of Columbia, MO, and James (Jim) Paisley of Bozeman, MT. Betty enjoyed being an active community member. She belonged to the Fortnightly Club, Current Events, Common Readers, and The First Presbyterian Church. She was a frequent room mother in the schools her sons attended and a Boy Scout den mother. Betty served on the Boulder Public Library Commission, the Boulder Day Nursery Board, Boulder Community Hospital Auxiliary, Presbyterian Board of Deacons, as an advisor for CU wives of new faculty members, and as the Social Coordinator for the CU Chancellor’s office. Following Ken’s retirement from the CU faculty, Betty and Ken enjoyed visiting professor assignments at several universities across the country, and visiting with family and friends both in the United States and Europe. Betty is survived by her son, John, her son Jim and his wife, Debby, granddaughter Ashley Bangs Avila, her husband Francisco, and their daughter Madelynn, granddaughter Amy Bangs, grandson Tyler Bangs and his wife Angela, sister Anne Porteous, niece, Nancy Porteous Johnson and her husband, Brian of Boulder, sister-in law, Joan Paisley, and several nieces and nephews. Betty was preceded in death by her husband, Ken, daughter-in-law Vickie Bangs, brother Bill Paisley, and brother-in-law Al Porteous. A service for Betty will be held at a later date. Memorial gifts to Boulder Community Health Foundation or Agape Care Community in Aurora would be appreciated.