Betty Elaine Curtis was born Sept. 26, 1935 in Santa Cruz, CA. She peacefully went to be with Jesus on July 7, 2009 at home in San Juan Bautista from complications related to cancer. She was 74. Betty is survived by her children: Steve Bradford (wife, Terri Lynn) of Prunedale, Donna Bradford Garcia (Husband, Jose) of San Juan Bautista, and Jerry Bradford (wife, Sheryl) of Monterey. Her daughter, Terri Bradford Creaghe preceded her in death in 2004. She leaves five grandchildren: Matthew Smith (wife, Rosie), Garett Smith, Steve Bradford, Jr., Travis Bradford and Joey Bradford and three step-grandchildren: Esteban Garcia, Elena Ayala, and Daniela Nyberg. She also leaves nine great-grandchildren: Kaitlyn, Sadey, Austyn, Cheyenne, Aiden, Mica, Charlie, Sophia and David. She will be fondly remembered by her nieces and nephews, especially Robert Cullifer, William Cullifer, Sheri Jameson, Michael Walker (all of Sacramento) and their families.
Betty was an ardent animal lover and lavished affection on her dogs and horses in recent years. She found much comfort and joy in her pets. Betty would tell us that she loved spending time on her back porch looking at her flower-filled backyard and talking to God.
Betty was the granddaughter of a Baptist preacher and she grew up on the Monterey Peninsula with her sister, Joan. At sixteen, she married Ace Bradford and started her family. Betty had worked a variety of jobs but most recently worked as an accounting clerk in a medical office in Sacramento. She retired in 2005 and moved to the central coast area to be closer to her children.
Grunnagle-Ament-Nelson Funeral Home in Hollister will be handling cremation arrangements. A memorial service will be held at 1:00 P.M. on Friday, July 10, 2009, at South Valley Community Church in Gilroy. Her ashes will be placed next to her daughter, mother and sister in Sacramento at a later date.
