Elizabeth Josephine Grover

Elizabeth Josephine “Betty” Grover passed away at Memorial Medical Center on April 19, 2024. She is survived by 5 siblings, Mary Ruth Brockway, Hazel Burgett, Emsley H. Stevens, Sharon Stevens and Rod Stevens; six children and their spouses, Dennis Grover (Judy) Craig Grover (Wanda) Laurie Anderson (Bob) Stephanie Bowker (Bill) Elsa “Jeanie” Olivas (Ramon) James “Wes” Grover (Elena); 14 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren and 5 great-great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents and husband Kenneth Grover.

Born in Conway Arkansas on December 15, 1927, she moved with her family to Washington state in 1932. The family lived in several places in Washington before settling in Port Orchard in 1939 where she graduated from Kitsap High School. She married her husband of 69 years on April 21, 1948. She spent most of her adult life in New Mexico in Las Cruces, Lake Roberts and Silver City. In 2016, Betty moved into Good Samaritan Village in Las Cruces where she enjoyed reading, volunteering in the library and working jigsaw puzzles in the lobby with her friends.

Remembered as a loving wife, mother and friend, Betty was also an avid writer, poet and family historian who kept records of major events of her extended family. She volunteered with Reach to Recovery as a breast cancer survivor, with Sapillo Fire Department as a first responder, and in the Ladies Auxiliary at Memorial General Hospital. A great lover of the outdoors, she enjoyed gardening, hiking, camping and backpacking. Betty was a woman of deep faith and an active member of the United Methodist Church throughout her life including being a charter member of both University United Methodist Church in Las Cruces and Mimbres United Methodist Church in San Lorenzo.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 on Friday, May 10 in the Auditorium at Good Samaritan Social Center (3025 Terrace Drive, Las Cruces). In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Betty’s honor to University United Methodist Church (PO Box 1090, Mesilla Park, NM 88047) or Mimbres United Methodist Church (PO Box 166, Mimbres, NM 88049-0166).