Dorothy Ann Betz

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Dorothy Ann Betz (Bernal) age 74 of Aurora, Colorado. Dorothy passed away on December 21, 2025 in Aurora, Colorado surrounded by her family and many loved ones. Dorothy was born on October 3, 1951 to her proud parents Federico Bernal and Abenecia Mary Muniz in Denver, Colorado. Dorothy was one of 7 siblings. Her siblings are: Al, Della, Ben, Mary Ester, Frank, Connie, and John. Dorothy is preceded in death by her parents Federico and Abenecia, her brothers Al and Ben, and her sisters Della and Connie. Dorothy was a devoted wife of 44 years, mother, grandmother, and friend to many.

Dorothy is survived by her loving husband John Clifton, her son Shawn Patrick (Rita), and her son John Patrick (Lindsey). She was lovingly proud of her five grandchildren: Vanessa (32), Kaylee (24), Taylor (22), Trevor (17) and Makenzie (16).

In Dorothy’s early years, she worked in retail while living in California. When Dorothy moved back to Colorado, she ran an at-home child care in which she cared for many children of the infant and toddler age. She began working as a baker at Albertsons in the mid 90’s and even worked with John Patrick for 4 years while he was in high school. Dorothy retired from Albertsons in 2013. She made many friends during these years and will forever be remembered.

Over the years, Dorothy loved taking the family on road trip vacations. Some of her favorite destinations were the beautiful mountains for picnic lunches with fried chicken and to Las Vegas. Dorothy loved spending time with her grandchildren and shared many stories about Vanessa, Kaylee, and Makenzie as infants. No amount of time was ever enough time for her to spend with the girls.

John and Dorothy hosted many Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings at their house over the years. She has an impressive collection of Native American Dolls, and Disney glassware. Dorothy loved having her hair done and never wanted one white root to show, even though we all knew what was behind the hair color. Her nails were always done beautifully. Her favorite song was “Music Box Dancer” and she loved listening to this song and country music at home. John Clifton and Dorothy went to see Celine Dion in concert in Las Vegas in June of 2005 with second row seats.

There are so many beautiful memories we will hold of Dorothy close to our hearts. Whether it was an early morning pick-me-up meme on Facebook, or remembering everybody’s birthdays and anniversaries. It was always very important to Dorothy that others knew she was thinking of them. Dorothy lived a life caring and loving others.

John Clifton will always remember meeting Dorothy for the first time at a friend's house in Aurora, Colorado. Seven years later, John drove to California and met Dorothy again. They fell deeply in love, and three months later John would return to pick up Dorothy and Shawn to move back to Colorado. On their way home, they stopped to get married at “The Little White Chapel” in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 31, 1981.

Shawn will always remember his Moms work ethic and ability to create such a loving environment even as a single mother when times were tough. Life wasn’t always easy but Mom somehow always made it look that way.

John Patrick will always remember his early morning phone calls with his mom on his way to work. Over the past several months, the phone calls became both a before work and an after work phone call. Dorothy would always want to hear about John’s day at work and loved hearing stories about the family.

Over the past several years, Dorothy grew closer to her siblings in which they had multiple phone calls a week together. Dorothy loved spending time with family at the Bernal family reunion in Castle Rock in July 2025. There, she laughed, shared memories, and took several pictures with loved ones both near and far.

Over the past several years, she endured suffering and obstacles with her health. Dorothy started having back issues ten years ago and underwent multiple back surgeries in hopes to help relieve some of the pain. In January 2022, Dorothy suffered from a debilitating stroke. She was hospitalized for several months as she worked to regain her strength before eventually moving back home. Early in 2025, Dorothy was diagnosed with Fibrosis of the lungs. This diagnosis was devastating but explained the difficulty in catching her breath during different parts of the day. Dorothy underwent an aortic aneurysm repair in August of 2025. This procedure was risky with all of Dorothy’s health concerns, but she came out on the other side. Her voice was never the same after this surgery, and she struggled to speak and developed a harsh, and painful cough. Through it all, we were thankful for the past several months we were able to spend with Dorothy.

A celebration of life will be held in the spring of 2026 and the family will communicate the plans with friends and loved ones as the date is selected and is approaching.