Betty Biddinger

Betty Lou Morrell Biddinger

March 4, 1924 – January 2, 2021

Betty Lou Morrell Biddinger died on January 2, 2021 in Parker, Colorado at age 96.  She was born on March 4, 1924 in Beloit, Kansas, the daughter of John Stuart Morrell and Nellie Elizabeth Norton. After high school, Betty received nurses training as a World War II Cadet Nurse at Wesley Hospital in Wichita, Kansas. In the late summer of 1945, she became reacquainted with hometown classmate, Robert “Bob” Biddinger, while he was on furlough and visiting his sister Mary who was a patient in the hospital. Betty and Bob were married on October 8, 1945 and they settled in Wichita after the war ended. In 1955 they moved to Denver, Colorado with their three children. Betty worked as a registered nurse while Bob opened a shirt laundry and dry-cleaning business in Denver. Betty’s career as an RN led her from direct patient care to an administrative role as chief admitting officer at Lutheran Hospital in Wheat Ridge when it grew from a TB sanitorium to a general medical facility in the early 1960s.

When Betty retired, she became involved in the Wheat Ridge Women’s Club and found expression in landscape painting with acrylics. She and Bob loved to travel; the Grand Canyon and England were their favorite trips. And Betty always looked forward to Girls Weekend with her sisters in Kansas. When Bob died five years ago, Betty became a resident of Crown Crest of Parker, which became Avantara Crown Point and is now The Suites Parker. She came to love the staff there for the kindness and attention they gave her.

Preceding her in death were her husband Bob, brothers Keith and Kenneth Morrell, and sister Dora Lee (Mrs. Richard Williams). Betty is survived by sons Larry of Boulder, CO, Scott (Patsy) of Akron, OH, daughter Paula (Mrs. Terry Lasky) of Ruidoso, NM, granddaughters and great-grandchildren. She is also survived by brother Richard Morrell of Fairfax, VA, sister Marilyn Greif of Beloit, KS, and sister Ethel Johnson of Garden City, KS, as well as many nieces and nephews.

Betty will be interred at Olinger Crown Hill Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Her family and friends look forward to gathering for a celebration of her life in the future.