Mrs. Betty Jane Bryant

Betty Jane Bryant was born September 24, 1922 to Bernhardt Henry William Messerly and Lydia Louise Harms Messerly, who lived south of Bennett, CO. When she was six years old, her mother passed away and she and her sister Bernice lived with three different caring neighbors for several months, until her father begin getting housekeepers so they could live with their father at home. One of the housekeepers, Vera Parr, became his wife, which gave Betty a brother, Wayne Parr and another sister, Marline Parr. To that union was born another sister, Rosalyn Parr Demoney.

After graduating from high school, she attended a small business college, that was owned by a Christian lady who rented the top floor of the college’s three story building to five other Christian girls, one being Grace Erickson. Grace invited her to church and Betty received Christ as her personal Saviour on July 21, 1940. She was baptized by Dr. Harvey Springer on March 9, 1941 at First Baptist Church. In 1946, Dr. Springer asked her to be his secretary, and she filled that position for a little over 20 years.

In 1968, at the age of 46, she married Rufus Henry Bryant and immediately became a stepmother to four children, Robert Harold Bryant, Shira Virginia Bryant, Sarah Anne Thomas and John Paul Bryant. Two of the four children were teenagers and still at home. Rufus taught at Baptist Bible College West and Betty worked in the office and library at the college. Later they moved to Colorado Springs where Rufus became a salesman for the Bell and Howell Company, which required a lot of traveling. For several years they traveled together until that division of the company closed. They returned to Englewood and First Baptist Church in 1976, and also opened Bryant’s Christian Book Store. When Rufus passed away in 1984, Betty returned to working in the church office as a secretary for Pastor Bill Smith and later for Pastor Loyd Gross. She then retired... but really she didn’t.

You see, Betty had a servant’s heart. This was evident many years earlier, as a child herself, when on bitter winter mornings, Betty was known to purposefully walk in front of the rest of her siblings to shield them from the cold. And she was known to carry their lunch pails home from school too. It was a regular schedule for Betty to finish a full day of work on the job at the Western Voice, and then travel to Bennett to help her sister Bernice with washing and cooking during her stepmother's illness. She would then get up early the next morning to help with chores before racing back to Englewood. She arranged a room, cooked and washed clothes for her brother Wayne when he came home from the service....Betty was always caring for others.

Even after she “retired”, she spent countless hours volunteering at the church and driving her friends to places they needed to go, visiting the ladies that were shut in...always helping, always helping to carry someone's burdens, always serving others.

But you also know, Betty had the heart of a prankster. Rosalyn recalls the time that she and Marline were walking home from school one day, and noticed a large, fat black man with his arms outstretched like a scarecrow. As they walked by him, he started to chase them. They nearly ran themselves to death before they discovered with relief that the “big black man” turned out to be Betty with her face painted, dressed in a pair of their fathers overalls with pillows stuffed inside. She played many a jokes on many a folks, always had a smile and a laugh. Betty was kindhearted, fair, dedicated, big sisterly, humorous, and thoughtful are just a few words that describe this wonderful lady, one that we all loved and respected, one that entered into heaven hearing the words, "Welcome home, thou good and faithful servant."