In Memory of Betty Moseley 1928-2023 - By Bonnie Shetler
Betty Ruth Moseley died peacefully at home on December 23, 2023, at the age of 95.
As best as I can recall, I first met Betty Moseley face to face sometime in the early 2000’s over lunch at the Rainbow Restaurant. She had invited me to lunch for no stated reason but, reason or not, I was quite interested in meeting with this woman who by then had become known for her activism on behalf of local elders and their families. As a psychologist in private practice, I shared her interest in promoting efforts to ease the challenges of aging.
It took only a few moments for her to get to her agenda. As chair of the Foundation on Aging (FOA), a non-profit that by then had been supporting programs to address aging issues for almost 20 years, she was seeking new board members. Several of the board who had been with her from the early days of FOA’s existence had begun to experience health issues that required them to resign leaving seats that had not been open for years.
Having served on non-profit boards prior to this encounter, I was not particularly eager to take on another commitment that involved time, fund raising, and often dreary, predictable, report-filled board meetings. But of course by the end of lunch she had me signed up. And so began an intense 10+ year relationship that was challenging but never boring.
It was during that time that FOA needed to find additional sources of funding. Up until then the Board’s primary income was provided by a sizable bequest left as part of the estate of a friend and colleague of the original board members. But with interest rates dropping dramatically from a fund conservatively invested in bonds and CD’s, it was necessary to begin tapping into principal to continue to serve the purpose of the original behest. FOA’s life expectancy became suddenly finite. This was a board with a history of giving not begging.
And so began a period of heartfelt but often contentious discussion about the future of FOA. Betty and I found ourselves on opposite sides of several issues and I must say the first time we butted heads I was initially stunned by her ferocity when it came to supporting the ideals on which FOA was originally founded. She had always presented as an intelligent, insightful yet soft-spoken advocate who preferred to work within the shadows of the spotlight. But I soon learned she would unflinchingly and fiercely rise to the challenge of defending her vision of what was right.
In 2016 FOA did generously and graciously transform itself into the Partnership for Age-friendly Communities, a program it originally fostered to encourage community partnerships and a cadre of volunteers to address the needs of an aging population in Larimer County. Over the years of getting to that solution Betty and I had several opposing views about the path forward, but we came to respect each other’s opinion and learned to allow our combined voices to establish a clear direction to what we both agreed was the right thing to do. My original concerns about yet another routine board experience were totally unfounded.
FOA was just one of many of Betty’s community projects. How she found the time to do so much is a total mystery to me. I will always have a deep respect for her active commitment to making her community a better place. It is only now that she has passed on that I realize how truly heartfelt that respect has been.
Bonnie Shetler, Ph.D. retired in 2019 from private practice as a licensed clinical psychologist.
She has volunteered with PAFC since its inception in 2013, working on the website, helping to develop intergenerational projects, and currently serves on the team working to connect older adults to online opportunities. She loves the Colorado mountains - hiking, biking, camping- and lives with her husband, Terry, in the foothills west of Fort Collins.
