Hospice sells estate jewelry - The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
There wasn't a piece of jewelry Betty Sisson didn't adore.
Gold necklaces, diamond- encrusted watches, turquoise pendants, gaudy gem rings, shimmering bracelets — the world traveler who lived in Grand Junction during the last years of her life loved to collect bling.
Even in the days before the 95-year-old woman died at HopeWest Hospice Care Center in the spring, she made sure to wake up each morning and place a resplendent necklace around her neck, her sister-in-law Lena Elliott recalled.
"To think that this one person had this much jewelry," Elliott said Friday, scanning a conference room displaying thousands of pieces of Sisson's jewelry. "I don't think she knew how much jewelry she had. We never knew what was in all those boxes. She did love jewelry."
And Sisson would love to know her vast collection of sparklers is going to a good cause, Elliott added.
HopeWest is hosting a unique, glittery kind of sale, offering all the pieces of Sisson's jewelry starting this morning with the proceeds benefitting the agency.
Sisson collected a wide range of jewelry, and the sale prices range from $5 for a costume jewelry ring to $1,200 for a 14-karat gold necklace. Styles include jewelry created by designers Judith Ripka, Kenneth Jay Lane, Joan Rivers and reproductions of jewelry worn by Jacqueline Kennedy.
The sale also includes a number of Sisson's designer purses.
Becky Brown of Great American Estate Sales spent months cleaning, organizing, researching and pricing the jewelry. Pieces are on sale for about half the price one would pay online, she said.
Christy Whitney Borchard, president and chief executive officer of HopeWest, said Sisson also donated much of her estate to three charities that help women and children.
"It's a remarkable story and a remarkable story about generosity," Whitney Borchard said.
Betty M. Elliott Sisson was born in Glendale, California, and grew up alongside her three siblings, Margie, Shirley and Carter, according to a memorial tribute for her.
In 1944, she married Bob Sisson who was serving in the U.S. Army Air Force. After World War II, the couple settled in Santa Rosa, California, and the two became passionate archers and traveled the world.
The couple had one child, Sue Ann, who shared her mother's love of travel and shopping for jewelry.
About five years ago, Sisson moved to Grand Junction to be near family. She died March 3, 2018.
The family said they hope Betty Sisson's love of jewelry will bring joy to others.
"To me, collections are the stories of our lives," Whitney Borchard said. "If you're a collector, there's never a point when you have too many."
