Obituary of Bette Jo Colonius

Bette Jo Colonius, 68, of Salem passed away August 28, 2019.  Bette was born on April 24, 1951 in St. Louis, MO, the daughter of Robert Eugene and Christine Joyce (Simino) Tripp.

Bette moved from St. Louis to Licking in 2000 where she started working at the S.C. Correctional Center. Bette was always a special, loving, and hardworking lady. Family meant everything to Bette and she would do anything for them. Her daughters would say their mother remained very active, but within the last three years she was in a lot of pain. She experienced a stroke and heart attack in 2016 and barely made it through, so they like to say those were her “bonus years”. She enjoyed playing bingo and loved coming to St. Louis and visiting her mother and family. Bette was a marathon shopper and shopped till she dropped. She also loved animals of all kinds.

Bette is survived by her daughters, Angela Colonius (spouse, Richard Crimmins) and Tammy Colonius (spouse, Mark Robins); mother, Christine Tripp; fiancé, Eldon Flett, whom she met at the correctional center and have been to engaged since 2001; sisters, Rhonda Sanders, Lisa Haas, and Vicky Desmond; brother, Dennis Tripp; grandchildren, Krystal Crimmins and Tara Crimmins; great granddaughter, Johonna Corder; and many nieces and nephews.  She is preceded in death by her husband, Lee Colonius; grandson, David Colonius; and father, Robert Tripp.