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Gayle Ferguson-Bettale, of Loveland, passed away on Tuesday evening. She was a beloved mother, a wife, daughter, sister and a grandmother.
But she was also more than this. She was a philosopher of sorts, a political aficionado, a teacher, a lifelong student, a pilot, an animal lover and more.
She began her journey on January 25, 1932 in Enid, Oklahoma; the daughter of Velma and Avis Pitts. As a young child, Gayle enjoyed riding horses especially her pony and reading as well as attending school.
In 1949 Gayle met and married Robert Ferguson and together they had two children, Bobby and Susan. While married, Gayle helped out on the Oklahoma family farm. She was often seen rounding up cattle while riding one of her two horses: Judy and Gracie. During this time she also attended Central State University where she studied business administration and obtained her teaching certificate, which would become her lifelong calling and passion. She graduated magna cum lade in 1968. As she worked diligently on her schooling, her curious and adventuresome spirit got the best of her; she began taking private flying lessons and spent many hours in the air before acquiring her private pilot's license.
Robert and Gayle later divorced and in the summer of 1969 she married Steve Bettale and together they had a daughter Toni and moved to Loveland. Gayle assisted her husband, Steve by doing the bookkeeping at their auto-electric business in Loveland. She continued her education by attending Colorado State University and obtained her Master's degree in vocational education with her thesis work on individual learning styles. Again, she sought out more thrilling ventures by getting her scuba diving certificate. She also enjoyed water skiing, snow skiing and took classes on transcendental meditation, self-hypnosis, and Erhard Seminars Training. In addition, she was a volunteer working with improving the lives of troubled youth.
In 1976, after the devastation of the Big Thompson flood, Gayle joined the Interfaith Task Force, which aided victims and their families of the flood. Following her graduate degree, she moved to Arizona where she taught on the Jicarilla Navajo Indian Reservation, San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation, later ending her teaching career at Fountain Hills High School.
She was a member of the All-Saints Episcopal Church in Loveland, Eastern Star in Crescent, Oklahoma and the Kiwanis Club in Fountain Hills, Arizona. She is survived by a son Bobby Ferguson and two daughters Susan Kelley (Robert) and Toni Klein (Eric) as well as grandchildren Chris Kelley (Kristin), Katie Kelley, Macy Klein and C.J. Klein, and her beloved lhasa apso Chewy. She was preceded in death by her mother, father; husband Steve Bettale and brother Morris. Graveside memorial services will be held Tuesday, March 6 at 1 p.m. at Loveland Burial Park. A reception will follow. Flowers will be donated to Good Samaritan in Loveland following the service and memorial contributions can be made to Halcyon Hospice through Allnutt.
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