LITTLETON, Colo. — If busy hands are happy hands then Betty Wallace certainly has a lot to smile about.
At 93 years old, you'll rarely find her without her crocheting needles, working away for some of Colorado's tiniest babies.
"I have to have something to do," Wallace said, laughing.
Wallace crochets hats and blankets for Warm Hearts Warm Babies, a nonprofit that makes and donates layette sets to hospitals up and down the front range.
"As far back as I can remember, she's always done something for the community," said her daughter Barb Whitney.
It all started when Wallace was just a little girl making rope with her dad.
"Well that's the first thing I made was a belt and a hat and a hair tie... and my sisters and I had many belts," Wallace said.
Today, she shares her passion with a group of church women, including her daughter and granddaughter.
"At 93 years old, she is still just as active contributing to the community as she's ever been," said longtime friend Kathy Hug.
Once a month they meet and make hats and prayer shawls for babies. Some, like Wallace's younger sister, did not survive survive.
"I think about my little sister who died when she was 2 and back then strep throat was almost always fatal and Jeralyn got strep throat and died," Wallace said. "I remember that very vividly and I think if we could give peace to some family, that's what we need to do."
Just this year, Wallace has made more than 200 hats and countless prayer shawls — a small gesture made with an abundance of love.
"We want people who receive these to know that they are loved, they are cared for and they are thought about and prayed over every day," Wallace said.
Molly Hendrickson anchors Denver7 in the mornings from 4:30-7 a.m. She also features a different 7Everyday Hero each week on Denver7. Follow Molly on Facebook here and Twitter here. To nominate a hero in your life, click here.
