Elizabeth ""Betty"" Manolakis

Elizabeth ""Betty"" Manolakis, 74, passed away at home on September 02, 2016 surrounded by her loving family. Betty was born on January 28th, 1942 to Melville Weston and Gladys Fuller in the small town of Mattoon, Illinois. She later moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma where she grew up with her sister Gwynne and eventually graduated with a B.S. degree from University of Tulsa where she met and married her husband of 53 years, James C. Manolakis. Betty's life would take her to the wild frontiers of Alaska. At Elmendorf AFB she gave birth to her first daughter, Tracy. Eventually the family planted roots in Colorado where her second daughter, Rebecca, was born. Betty was always busy. Aside from being a loving, devoted mother and sports mom, she absolutely loved riding and showing her horses, painting, raising African violets, rug hooking, fishing, camping and building campfires. If you didn't have the honor of meeting Betty [our mom], you missed the opportunity to know someone who was so incredibly kind, selfless, generous, and had a way of making you feel good about yourself no matter how clumsy you were. Betty is survived by her two daughters ""Tracy & Rebecca Manolakis"", husband ""James C. Manolakis"", and her sister ""Gwynne Clements"" and six nieces & nephews. Betty wanted to be remembered for being a devoted mom/wife and her love of life and animals. In keeping with Betty's wishes, in lieu of a traditional memorial service, the family will hold a ""Celebration of Life"" gathering which will be held at 11:30 Saturday, September 24th at their residence in Littleton Colorado (contact funeral home at 303-986-9615) for particulars and address. We welcome all friends and family to attend. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are encouraged to Betty's favorite charities: Rocky Mountain Horse Rescue and the American Cancer Society.