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Betty Elizabeth Hoke, 88, of Brighton, Colorado, formerly of Colorado Springs, Colorado, passed away on July 18, 2021.
Betty Elizabeth Sheriff was born July 22, 1932 to Clarence Earl Sheriff and Emma Margretta Hoffman Sheriff in RD 2 McClure, Pennsylvania. She joined siblings Chip, Ruth and John on the family farm. Betty attended Center School for grades 1-8, then went on to Lewistown High School. Betty had babysitting jobs, was a waitress at the Royal Dairy and worked in the office of the Shirt Factory in the Lewistown area. Eventually Betty moved to Harrisburg and worked as a secretary at the capitol.
Betty met George Hoke on the day after Christmas in 1956. Betty and George eloped and got married in Winchester, Virginia on April 12, 1958. Betty and George worked at the Naval Supply Depot in Mechanicsburg, PA.
In May 1965, Betty and George took the train to Colorado Springs to check out the area. In August 1965, we sold our house and furniture, placed our personal belongings into an 8x10 U-Haul trailer and moved to Colorado Springs.
We lived in two rental properties before George and Betty bought a house in 1967. They lived in that house for 42 years. During that time, Betty worked as a secretary at the Chidlaw building for ENT Air Force Base, Colorado Gas and Electric and other jobs before working for Compassion International from which she retired in 1992.
George and Betty went on cruises, traveled to the Holy Land and went on a train trip through Switzerland and adjacent countries. There were many trips to Pennsylvania during these years, too. Relatives and friends were shown many sites in Colorado. Pikes Peak, the Garden of the Gods, the Manitou Incline, the Flying W Ranch, the Royal Gorge, Rocky Mountain National Park and Cripple Creek were standard places to visit.
In May 2009, Betty and George sold their house and moved into The Inn at Garden Plaza which is a senior apartment complex in Colorado Springs. On July 5, 2011 they moved into Assisted Living at Sterling House (now Brookdale) in Brighton to be closer to Brenda. George needed help with everything and Betty needed help with George. George died one month later on August 2, 2011. By the end of that month, Betty moved in with Brenda. We took fall foliage trips and no matter which way we headed, we always managed to spend a few days in Ouray and traveled through Colorado Springs on our way home to Brighton. We took two non-stop flights to Pennsylvania and after that Betty decided she was finished flying.
Betty enjoyed reading, but after she moved in with Brenda and a house full of books, she seemed to cut back on her reading. She did read her devotions each morning. Betty and Brenda joined Zion Congregational Church on June 15, 2014.
Eventually Betty started going to Brenda’s retiree luncheons and seemed to enjoy being around the people Brenda used to work with. Betty and Brenda attended local trade shows and conventions each year.
The Chidlaw building was near Montgomery Wards. One day during her lunch break, Betty went in there and saw a decorative mirror with shelves and told George that was what she wanted for Christmas. She also got a set of Angels of the month at Woolworths. She would change the display each month. The mirror went from 2908 North Institute to the Inn at Garden Plaza to Sterling House. It is now on a wall in Brenda’s living room. The last four months have been hard. Betty was in and out of Platte Valley Medical Center and Avamere Care Center beginning in mid-March. She recovered enough to return home for 54 hours in mid-April. Betty passed away at Avamere Care Center on July 18, 2021 with Brenda at her side.
Betty was preceded in death by her husband, George E. Hoke, parents, Earl and Emma Sheriff; two brothers and a sister: Clarence “Chip” Sheriff, John Sheriff and Ruth Clokey. A niece, Doris Jean Sheriff, and a nephew, Daniel Jay Sheriff also passed away in the last twenty years.
Betty is survived by her daughter Brenda K. Hoke and four nephews: William E. “Bill” Clokey, John R. “Bobby” Clokey, Jr., Dr. Dennis E. Sheriff and Timothy Sheriff and two nieces: Jean Foltz and Marlene Pierce.
A visitation and funeral service will be held at Zion Congregational Church. Burial will take place at Memorial Gardens in Colorado
In Lieu of flowers Please make donations in Betty's name to:
The Women's Ministry at Zion Congregational Church; 401 South 27th Avenue, Brighton, CO 80601 OR
The Eagle View Adult Center; 1150 Praire Center Parkway, Brighton, CO 80601
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