Betty "BJ" Thetford, 89, of Metamora, formerly of Washington, passed away on Sunday, January 10, 2021, at Unity Point Methodist Hospital with her family by her side. Born December 27, 1931 in Louisville, Kentucky to Clarence Harder and Hazel (Bradshaw) Harder, she married Gentry Cain Thetford on March 18, 1951 in Peoria. Gentry died on February 8, 2013, and she was also preceded in death by her parents and one brother, Elroy Harder. Surviving are: three children- Gale Thetford of Peoria, Donn Thetford of Altamont, and Sheri (Robert) Perkins of Southlake, TX.; five grandsons- Nathan (Allison) Tonnies of Peoria, Stuart Schmadeke (Lauren Howard) of Washington DC, Derek (Jessie) Thetford of Kewanee, Taylor Perkins of Southlake, TX, and Aaron (Elsa) Perkins of Grapevine, TX; and two great grandchildren- Tyler Mollman of Urbandale, IA, and Hazel Tonnies of Peoria. Also surviving are her sister Caren (Dick) Lobo of Coconut Grove, FL and her stepmother Alice Harder Ragan, also of Coconut Grove, FL. In addition, she is survived by her nephew Michael (Jamie) Harder of Peoria. BJ was a 1949 graduate of Woodruff High School who later attended Midstate College to further hone her executive secretarial skills. BJ was employed for the vast majority of her career at Caterpillar, retiring in 1993 in Personnel with over 35 years of service to Caterpillar in different positions, leaving only briefly to be reunited with Dr. Asbury, who left as Caterpillar's Medical Director to become the Medical Director for Proctor Hospital. She began in the secretarial pool at Caterpillar, once joking that she had 27 different jobs during her time at Cat, some albeit for only a few days. She was devoted to her work, and particularly enjoyed working for former Director of Public Affairs Byron DeHaan and working with Steve Newhouse on the Caterpillar Annual Report in the 1980's. She was an outstanding secretary, communicator, and was fiercely loyal to her superiors as well as to her co-workers. She, along with other coworkers and her dear friend Patricia Poole from Washington, became involved in Peoria's chapter of the National Secretaries Association, eventually serving as a speaker and officer. She was also a woman of many talents. She was a wonderful cook. How she managed to have dinner promptly between 5:30 and 6:00 every night after working a full day at Caterpillar was something we undoubtedly took for granted then and marvel at now. She could sew anything, frequently without a pattern: matching Easter outfits for all of us, suits for herself and my grandmother, dresses for Homecoming, curtains for her grandson's bedroom. She often would reminisce that she had 7 items of clothing in high school: two skirts, two blouses, one nice dress, one pair of trousers, and one sweater-only one of which she didn't make herself. She was also a very talented artist who loved to draw and would submit an amazing body of work as a high school student that now resides in numerous frames in her children's homes. On a whim at Christmastime, she would paint a stained-glass depiction of a Christmas scene on our picture window in Sunnyland - the Journal Star would show up a few days later to take pictures. Her cursive handwriting was truly beautiful - she made extra money in high school addressing wedding invitations. And she dearly loved music. She sang in the choir in high school. She sang with her brother, Elroy, in barbershop quartets as a young adult. She sang solos for weddings and funerals. She sang in her church choir first at Sunnyland Christian Church, then later at First Christian Church in Peoria. When her children were young, she was a member of a trio - BJ Thetford, Helen Manier, and Norma Hoffmire - from Sunnyland who sang at numerous events for a number of years (Ms. BJ designed and made her own costumes of course). She later was also a member of the ECCU-Keys with her good friend Kay Sharp from Sunnyland and they performed at various churches and venues over the years with Ms. BJ also serving as the MC and the teller of jokes transitioning between musical numbers. When she moved to Snyder Village in 2010, she was still singing in her church choir, singing with the ECCU Keys and quickly became a member of the Snyder Village Gospel Choir. At one point, she was recovering in the rehab wing at Snyder Health Center for some illness. The Snyder Gospel Choir was scheduled to sing at a church outside of Metamora and Ms. BJ had a solo she had been working on. Not to be deterred, she got on the bus with an escort and the rest of the Choir, managed to stand up at the neighboring church to sing her solo, have a bite of cake afterward, get back on the bus, and go back to finish her rehab at the nursing home. We were advised that apparently no one had ever done that before. She was dedicated to her church, first as a member of Sunnyland Christian Church, then later as a member of First Christian Church in Peoria, serving as a Deacon for both. And she would have been an elder had our Grandmother not discouraged her, believing that such a position should not be held by a woman. Perhaps her greatest talent was the constant love and support she gave her children, who she firmly believed were her greatest achievement. She wasn't able to attend college, but she made sure her children had that opportunity. To her delight, all three of her children not only attended college, but they all graduated with honors. And she was always ready to listen to and assist with any of the needs and desires of her family, beaming with pride at their individual achievements, of which there have been many. She later became a much beloved Nana to her five grandsons and was always willing to lend a hand to help them as well, in any way she could. And in her last years, she was blessed with a great granddaughter who never ceased to amaze and delight her. We will so miss our beloved Mother and Nana. After thanking one of her caregivers recently, we were told, "You don't need to thank me. It was my privilege. Some people come into your life and make it better. BJ was one of those people. I pray that God will give you peace and comfort." And we pray that Ms. BJ will find peace and comfort at last. And we are all pretty sure that she is already keeping Mr. Gentry in line up in heaven, making sure he doesn't forget anything on her grocery list and that he doesn't eat all of the cookies in one sitting! Memorial contributions may be made to the First Christian Church of Peoria, 6400 N. University St., Peoria, IL 61614. At the discretion of her family, BJ's funeral will be now be private. The service will be livestreamed on Saturday; you will find the link under the Tribute Wall tab on this page.