by Mike Davis, Ph.D.
Head of School

This week, the Denver community said goodbye to one of the long time and unseen and unsung heroes of CA. Her name was Betty Ann Romero (Olivas). 

 

She and her husband of 45 years, Carlos Olivas, were on the school’s Housekeeping Staff and arrived at work each day at about the same time everyone else was leaving campus. Carlos worked at CA for 35 years and Betty for more than 10. He preceded her in death; both had battled cancer.

 

Their jobs essentially entailed cleaning up the messes that each day’s learning brought. Carlos oversaw the work of the nighttime housekeeping staff. These meticulous workers began their day’s shift as the sun went down, and somehow, as if by magic, cleaned every room in every building, every workday of the week. 

 

Former administrative assistant Beverly Holmes remembered Betty as a kind and lovely person; a devoted worker who took great pride in her work. She recalls, “Every year I gave Betty the two Poinsettia plants from the Smith Center lobby to take home at the holidays. Betty would always tell me how long she kept them blooming—usually until Valentines Day.”

 

Betty and Carlos raised ten children, had nine grandchildren and two great grandchildren. And at Betty’s funeral this week, what people remembered was her loving home that was always the family hub of activity, despite its small size. People remembered her love for the Denver Broncos, and her relentless sense of humor. Accompanying her on-line obituary, there are dozens of photos of Betty in costume, smiling, laughing, and always surrounded by family – sometimes as many as 19 people at a time.

 

I often think about how these are the kinds of people in whose presence I want my own children. They are the kinds of individuals that I want our students never to take for granted. Betty and Carlos modeled the qualities we value in our community, as well as those that we strive to develop in kids. Their commitments as parents and grandparents and community members are to be honored, and I know they will be missed by family and friends.