Betty Veloy Jensen Kingsbury, our beautiful friend and longtime
faithful member of the Bloomington 7th Ward slipped peacefully into
eternity on Monday, October 9, 2023, in her Vintage home surrounded by family.
Born in December 1926 to Archibald Wesley and Sarah Sylvia Stewart
Jensen, Betty loved growing up in Spanish Fork, UT where she participated in
many small-town celebrations with decorated bicycles and children pulling
wagons in parades. As an adult, Betty continued to love celebrating patriotic
holidays and honored her pioneer heritage, serving many years as a member of the
Daughters of the Utah Pioneers (DUP) organization in which her artistic talent
brightened many luncheons and parties.
In Spanish Fork, she attended Thurber Elementary School, Roosevelt
Jr. High School (where she began developing skills as a seamstress) and East
High School where she learned to type and worked to further refine her sewing
skills. She graduated from East High School in the summer of 1944, with
ceremonies held coincidentally in Kingsbury Hall.
At the end of 1944, she accepted a position at the Bureau of
Reclamation where she worked until afshe was married and expecting her first
child in 1947. She later worked at Hill
Air Force Base where she applied her bookkeeping skills. In California, she became known as the popcorn
lady at Byrd Jr. High School and was a positive influence to everyone around
her while working at Security Pacific National Bank in Glendale, CA.
Betty met her sweetheart Jack Haight Kingsbury in August 1946. She
and a friend were on their way to a dance when two nice young men invited
themselves along. Betty always said she could
tell this tall blonde “Jack” wanted to be her dance partner and later he
confessed that was his plan. She and Jack were married three months later on October
18, 1946. The ceremony in Kaysville, UT was
performed in the home of Judge Major’s home with the judge’s wife and son as
witnesses. The judge’s family was getting ready to go deer hunting and had
their rifles in plain view ready until they could be loaded into their truck. To
some, it might have looked like a shotgun wedding, but it wasn’t. Jack and
Betty spent their 2-day honeymoon at the Ben Lomond Hotel in Ogden, Utah with
nothing more than $20 between them. They were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple in
October 1949. They were parents to Larry J. Kingsbury, Lynn J. Kingsbury, Nancy
Kingsbury Anderson, and David J Kingsbury.
They began their life together at 1897 S. Fifth East in downtown
Salt Lake City, UT. In 1960, Jack’s job transferred
the family to 13200 Community Street in Sun Valley, CA where they lived for
more than 30 years before retiring to St. George, UT in 1990.
For 96 years, Betty blessed the lives of all who knew her. She baked cupcakes for fundraisers, transported
children to Primary, made dolls and pillows for church bazaars and organized
endless records as secretary in the Church’s auxiliaries. Cub Scouts and Merrie
Miss Girls enriched her life and in turn, she influenced these young men and
women for good. Her hands were never idle and her craft projects, oil
paintings, and counted cross stitch creations grace the homes of her many friends
and family members. She documented family milestones with photographs and
scrapbooks. Her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, all have
samples of her handwritten letters and original cards which evidenced her
special attention to detail and her personal touch. She seldom visited anyone without
bringing her freshly baked and tasty raisin chocolate chip cookies or snickerdoodles.
Her love of traveling was ignited when her sister moved to
Illinois. She had always wanted to go back east, and Chicago became her jumping
off point. Those first trips to Chicago were the first of hundreds of road
trips she enjoyed throughout her life including exploring new continents with
Jack. Every new adventure broadened her horizons and increased her circle of
friends. Often, they would invite a grandchild to come along and afterwards a
unique book capturing those moments through photographs would be created filled
with their memories of the trip.
Christmas was magical with Betty. Year after year, her home was
transformed with sparkling decorations and the smell and taste of her delicious
confections. Her homemade chocolate covered cherries and nuts were legendary
and she generously donated thousands to the Festival of Trees.
What motivated Betty to serve and bless all she met along her
path? She had an unwavering testimony of
a Father in Heaven who loves her enough He sent His Son to die for us. She knew
of His love and wanted to share it through her tireless actions.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Archibald Wesley Jensen
and Sarah Sylvia Stewart; her siblings: Archie Rulon Jensen, Verda Jensen
Parker (Verdon), DellaVene Jensen Post (Glen), Mary Artence Jensen Sheehan
(Kermit), Reginald Bernell Jensen (Marion), Josephine Jensen Cackett (Bob), and
Allen S. Jensen (Marybell); the light of her life, Jack Haight Kingsbury; and
her grandsons: Mark Richard Anderson and David Richard Anderson. She is
survived by her four children: Larry J Kingsbury (Jan), Lynn J Kingsbury
(Ronnie), Nancy Kingsbury Anderson (Richard), and David J Kingsbury (Julie); 19
grandchildren, 42 great-grandchildren; and 3+ great-great grandchildren.
