Betty Peazel
July 25, 1916 - August 26, 2001

"A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m.. Sept 8, at the At Last Ranch in Pagosa Springs for Elizabeth "Betty" Feazel, a longtime area resident, who died Sunday, Aug. 26, 2001, in her home in Pagosa Springs of natural causes. She was 85.

"Mrs. Feazel was born July 25, 1916, in Dayton, Ohio, the only child of Lucy and Earl Turner. Her parents bought the At Last Ranch, west of Wolf Creek Pass near Pagosa Springs, in 1922. The family spent its summers at the ranch.

"Mrs. Feazel graduated from Wellesley College in Boston with a degree in philosophy and married Ernest Feazel on June 6, 1944, at At Last Ranch. She moved to the ranch full-time in 1973 from the family farm in Missouri.

"She was an active environmentalist and one of the founding members of the Southwest Land Alliance land trust. She also played a role in establishing the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts in 1990. . . ." For those of us who knew Betty as a member of Penn Valley Meeting, she will be remembered for her keen mind, warm hospitality, and lively personality. The Feazel family (Betty, Ernie, three sons and a daughter) lived part of the time on the family farm outside Lone Jack. They also spent time in Switzerland and of course, at Betty's family home in Colorado. She and Ernie (a TWA pilot) came to the meeting through their interest in civil rights. Along with others from the meeting, Fellowship House (an interracial group), and COPOD (Committee for the Practice of Democracy) Betty was active in helping to break segregation in Municipal Auditorium, and other places downtown during the 50's and early 60's.

The Penn Valley VOPS (Virginia Oldham Peace and Service) fund came about through Betty's suggestion that Virginia be honored by a fund from which she (Virginia) could use the interest for her favorite causes. Betty has been the major contributor to this fund. And many have benefitted from modest sums from the accumulated interest.

Betty died from pneumonia. When it appeared she was not going to recover, she asked to be taken home from the hospital and that all efforts to save her life be abandoned. On Sunday, several days after her return, two Friends from the Durango Meeting came to have meeting for worship with her. She was aware of their presence and died quietly later in the day. Her daughter felt the meeting for worship "helped her go in peace." Her husband, Ernie, died in 1976. Three sons, a daughter, and six grandchildren survive to miss this indomitable woman in their lives.