Betty Ann Soper

Betty Ann (Howard) Soper died Tuesday, November 11, 2025, at home in Orchard City, Colo. She was one day shy of her 79th birthday.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, November 22, 2025, at 2:00 PM at Taylor Funeral Services chapel, Delta, Colo., followed by a graveside service at Mesa View Cemetery (next to Taylor Funeral Services), and a funeral dinner at the Delta Seventh-day Adventist Church (Seventh Street and Meeker Street) immediately after.

Betty Howard was born on November 12, 1946, in Delta, Colo., to Guy Dunham Howard and Martha Roselle Doyle. As an only child, Betty grew up on the family farm in Read, Colo. with her five aunts and her grandparents to spoil her. For elementary school, she attended the Read School. In 1961, the family moved to a small farm in Delta, Colo., where she attended Delta Junior High and Delta High School and graduated with honors in 1965. She earned her B.S. in Biology with a Minor in Geology from Western State College in 1969.

Betty’s first teaching job was at a small school in Encino, New Mexico. Her mother, Martha, died on November 13, 1970, which forever impacted her life. After the 1971 school year, Betty moved back to Delta and taught 4th, 5th, or 6th grades at Lincoln Elementary for the next 39 years. Retiring after the 2010 school year.

In 1976, Betty met her forever love, Chuck, at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Delta. Their first date was July 4th, 1976, at the Paonia drive-in theater to watch Star Wars. After 6 years of dating, they were married on June 25, 1983, at the Paonia Seventh-day Adventist Church. To this union, two sons were born: Matthew (1984) and Michael (1985).

Betty’s life revolved around “family”: her personal family, church family, and Lincoln School family. She was a lifelong Seventh-day Adventist and held numerous leadership positions, including chairwoman of the Delta SDA Church School and Church Clerk. As an elementary school teacher, she inspired multiple generations of Deltans to learn science, Colorado history, and technology. She invented “Scholar Dollars” / “Soper Bucks”, as a model for rewarding good behavior and academic excellence that was recognized state-wide. She also taught and mentored junior teachers. After her retirement, she was active in the Lincoln Teachers Club, and enjoyed monthly lunches with her close teacher friends.

Some of Betty’s proudest moments were not in the classroom or the community, but were raising her two sons and watching them accomplish their dreams. Betty was a proud grandmother who enjoyed talking to and spending time with her grandkids. Betty loved to travel and her first international trip was a 5-week safari across the continent of Africa with her father in 1972, which she spoke fondly about. Trips around the US were to see family, but also an excuse to see historically significant sights or natural beauty. She loved reading books and the newspaper, and worked the crossword puzzle daily. She fulfilled lifelong dreams of reading her favorite book, The Secret Garden, in the British Moors and seeing the Northern Lights during a long-trip to Iceland in 2023.

Betty was a talented artist and her creative hobbies included: sending homemade cards to family and friends, painting beautiful scenes and animal pictures on rocks and canvases, and playing the accordion.

Betty always loved being at home in Western Colorado; she was a leader in many different sectors of the Delta Community and loved making a positive difference for her “families”. She was greatly loved and respected and the absence of her presence will long be felt.

Betty was preceded in death by her father, Guy Howard, and her mother, Martha Howard, and her aunts, Marjorie Long, Clara Marshall, Thelma Mosher, Merle Payne, and Mabel Howard.

She is survived by her husband of 42 years, Charles A. Soper of Orchard City, Colo., her two sons Matthew (Sarah) Soper of Delta, Colo., and Michael (Angelica) Soper of Russellville, Ark., and her two grandchildren Gabriel Soper and Amy Soper of Russellville, Ark.

Memorial contribution may be made to: Seventh-day Adventist School, noted in the memo line for the Betty Soper Memorial Scholarship Fund, or towards the creation of a Betty Soper Memorial Scholarship Fund for Delta students going to college, c/o Matthew Soper, P.O. Box 81, Delta, CO 81416.