Betty Jo Prowell

March 9, 1946 - December 30, 2020

Betty Jo Prowell, age 74, left to be with our Lord and Savior on December 30, 2020, after a gallant battle with Covid Pneumonia. She was born in Carlsbad, New Mexico to Lt. Col. John Davidson Gordon Jr. and Elizabeth Lea Steele. She graduated from Carlsbad Senior High School. Betty Jo was an active member of the Carlsbad High School band playing the Marimba and other percussion instruments, it was there that she met her high school sweetheart and soul mate, Ralph Prowell (Bill). They were married April 9, 1966 at Ft. Bliss In El Paso, Texas. Betty Jo was a mother, grandmother and great grandmother and loved spending time with her family and friends. Betty Jo moved with her husband and family from Carlsbad New Mexico to Mesa, Arizona in 1969 and as a military wife, she traveled with her family to Europe and various bases in the United states. During The first Iraqi war, she lived in Houston Texas where she started a very successful arts and crafts company. When her mother was diagnosed with cancer she returned to Phoenix Arizona where her family stayed until 2011. After her husband’s retirement, Betty Jo had wanted to spend time with her son John’s family and her grandchildren in Missouri where she was living at the time of her death. Betty Jo was known for her way of always bringing out the good in others. She always took the time to talk and encourage others, she always seemed to know the right words to say to “brighten” your day. Her love, her smile and her gratitude will be missed by all who knew her and for her warm loving smile and beautiful personality. Along with her family, she will be missed by her friends in Arizona, New Mexico, Missouri, Utah, Texas and Europe. Betty Jo was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and loved attending church and going to the Temple. She had a passion for learning more about her family history and traveling.. She loved learning new things about her ancestors. Her desire was to meet her ancestors and ask them questions about her family. She also loved collecting postcards from her travels all over the world. Betty Jo is preceded in death by her Mother and Father. She is survived by her husband Ralph, her son Rick Gordon of Phoenix Arizona, her son John Prowell and wife Gina of Waimea, Hawaii, her daughter Suzanne Carlson and husband Jon of Mesa, Arizona, as well as 6 grandchildren and three great children. Please join us in celebrating her life at 10:30 am on Tuesday January 12, 2021 at the Lehi Stake center, 1430 North Grand, Mesa, AZ 85201 with the interment following the service at the National Cemetery in Phoenix Arizona. Services are provided by Meldrum Mortuary, 52 North Macdonald, Mesa, AZ 85201