ALAMOSA — Mrs. Hazel Petty, a lifelong resident of the San Luis Valley and currently a resident of Alamosa, will be 100 years old on March 18. 

She is the daughter of Luther Bean and graduated from Adams State University. In an interview with the Valley Courier, she noted she was born in 1925, the same year Richardson Hall was built on what is now the campus of Adams State University. Previously, it was the Alamosa Normal School. 

“I was born in Costilla County; my family had a ranch there between Blanca and Garland. My dad, Luther Bean, was hired when Adams first started. He was one of the first teachers at Adams State College and there is a Luther Bean Museum at Adams. We moved to Alamosa when he was hired [she was six months old] at Adams Sate College. Back then, there was nothing here on this side [west] of Adams State. This was all pasture. 

“I had three sons and my daughter passed away five years ago from leukemia,” she said. 

Petty graduated from Adams State and taught school in the Alamosa Schools for 28 years. She taught girls physical education for one year, a position she said was, “I taught P.E. for one year and it was the worst experience. Seventh and ninth grade girls are hard to deal with. It was the worst year I taught. I was trained in elementary education and wanted to teach that. She went on to teach third grade and her son Gary now teaches in the same room in what was Central School and is now on the campus of Trinidad State. 

“I loved everything about teaching, I taught third grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade at Boyd. At one time teachers had to teach Colorado history, they needed to teach what the state flower is and what the state song is, state bird is. I loved it all. When asked if she remember what those things are, without hesitation the nearly 100-year-old replied, “The flower is the columbine, the state bird is the lark bunting and the song is, ‘Where the Columbines Grow.’ Colorado adopted a second state song, ‘Rocky Mountain High,’ by John Denver in 2007.” 

When asked to reflect on being 100 she said, “Just enjoy life, don’t worry about little things, just enjoy your family, enjoy the San Luis Valley. I am so grateful to have grown up in the San Luis Valley, I love living here. I love my neighbors, I loved going to my church, the Methodist church here.” Petty added she no longer attends church because the oxygen she must carry, “makes noise and I don’t want to disturb others.” 

“I love living here, the college and hospital are here. I hear the helicopter from the hospital. Some people complain about the noise it makes. I never complain because when I hear it going out that somebody is getting help. On my last birthday I was flown to Colorado Springs.” 

Petty expressed her gratitude to her son Gary who lives nearby and the two have coffee every morning. “We also have Sunday dinner every week and he likes to cook.” When asked if she likes to cook she said with laughter, “I have a microwave that I use and I open a can of soup.” 

She lives at her own home and takes pride in her continued mobility. A longtime member of Daughters of the American Revolution, the First United Methodist Church Alamosa, she was active in the SLV Museum, the Historical Society, among many other organizations. Petty noted the DAR Constitutional Hall in Washington was (and is) the largest auditorium in the city. 

She has three sons Gary (Alamosa), Ron (Colorado Springs) and Ralph (Paris, France), her daughter Nancy is deceased. She has many grandchildren and great-grandchildren all but two are planning on attending her 100th birthday party.