Beth Abney

1942 - 2021

Beth Holbrook Bailey Abney, 78, a long-time resident of the Las Vegas area, passed away Jan. 29 in Las Cruces, N.M., after a long battle against the demons of Alzheimer's.
She was born Oct. 28, 1942, in Fitchburg, Mass., to the late Robert Alden Bailey and Marjorie Holbrook Bailey.
She graduated from Evansville North High School and earned a bachelor's degree in English from Indiana University. After college, she worked as a traveling secretary for Delta Zeta, her college sorority, and met Larry Abney when she visited New Mexico Highlands University. She moved to Las Vegas five months later, and they were married on July 8, 1966. While Larry served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam, Beth took a job with the old state child welfare department.
After taking time off for the births of her sons, she returned to employment with the state of New Mexico as a psychologist at the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute. She took courses for a master's degree in psychology while working full time and raising her sons, and retired from NMBHI in 1997. They purchased their family home in Manuelitas in 1975 and remained there until Aug. 2020, when they moved to Las Cruces so they could be with family.
Beth faced several health challenges throughout her life. In 1990, she was diagnosed with cervical dystonia, a painful condition that caused her neck and body to spasm and twist painfully. She was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2012, and the treatment made eating difficult for the remainder of her life. Her memory began to fail shortly thereafter.
She remained a frugal New England Yankee through and through, having saved enough money over the years that both of her sons earned college degrees without owing student loans. She and Larry were debt free for years, and paid for activities and college for their granddaughters. She loved her cats, tending to her plants and flowers, reading English murder mysteries, watching football, and traveling to the other Las Vegas for shows and fresh seafood. They followed the activities of their granddaughters all over the state, streaming them on a computer at home when it became too difficult for Beth to travel.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 54 years, Larry Carl Abney; and by her parents.
She is survived by her sons, Robert (Alicia) of Los Lunas and Matthew (Karen) of Las Cruces; her granddaughters, Noela Elizabeth of Santa Fe, Kaley Adelina Garcia (Josh) of Albuquerque, Alyssa Christina of Denver, and Sarah Isabel Beth of Sacramento, Calif.; great-granddaughter Camila Garcia; and a cousin, Richard H. Austin (Ellie) of Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Beth's wishes upon her death were to be cremated and for interment in a private ceremony.
Due to COVID-19, a memorial service will be held for her and Larry at a later time in Las Vegas.
In lieu of flowers and other family supports, the family requests donations be made in Beth's name to Joy Junction or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.