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Bette Gallagher

Bette Gallagher passed away peacefully on July 23, 2016. Born on December 14, 1918 — she was 97 years old.

Bette moved to Aspen from Cleveland, Ohio, in January of 1960. While in Aspen she worked as a hat check girl at the Red Onion; a secretary for Dr. Jack Crandall, Reid Reality, The Bank of Aspen and eventually became a Real Estate Broker. She loved tennis, skiing and horseback riding. She also loved being with her friends — and she had a lot of them. She volunteered at the Aspen Animal Shelter and the Aspen Music Festival.

When Bette was 70, one of her friends got hurt seriously while skiing. She decided to stop skiing and began spending her winters in Sun City West, Arizona where she played very competitive tennis and Ping-Pong until she was 87.

After 17 seasons, of summers in Aspen and winters in Sun City West, Bette moved to the Vinecroft Retirement Community in Clarence, New York where her son lives. In 2007 she moved into Bristol Village — an Assisted Living facility that was also in Clarence.

She loved music and loved to dance — which she did at least twice a week when Bristol Village brought in musicians to entertain the residents. Those who knew Bette in Aspen would not be surprised to hear that she was a very “different” older person. The staff enjoyed her stories and her sense of humor — she was definitely not your average elderly resident. In fact, several of the aids and nurses went to visit her in Hospice to say “good bye.”


Bette is survived by her only son, Dr. Denny Gallagher and his wife Dorothy; six grand children; 10 great grand children and 1 great, great grand daughter. Her family will gather this winter to have a small memorial service surrounded by the mountains she loved.