Betty Jo Nicholls

Betty Jo Nicholls, 92, of Custer, S.D., passed away Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. 
She was born in Marshall, Mo., to John William and Elsbeth Bernice Gillam. She was the eldest of three girls and one boy. Her father worked for the Corps of Engineers, resulting in numerous moves throughout her childhood. Her most notable years were in the idyllic town of Pickstown, S.D., during the building of the Ft. Randall Dam, and this is where she graduated high school.
Betty’s first marriage was to Robert “Bob” Blankenfeld in 1951, and they had three children. Six of those years were in Custer, where she utilized her artistic talent to create and sell paintings and pottery, as well as find time to design and build a house with her husband, produce her third child, and learn to SCUBA dive. Although they moved away from Custer for a number of years, they did move back briefly.
Betty later established a career making custom miniature Victorian furniture and was a well known maker. She made furniture professionally for about 15 years, traveling from coast to coast for trade shows, and also squeezed in several diving trips to islands in the south pacific. During this time she divorced, and then later married George Carton Nicholls III in 1990. 
George and Betty started out in Colorado, where she helped plan, and later lived at, the Grey Rocks co-housing development in Ft. Collins, then moved to Arizona, and even had a summer home in Custer for two years. They remained together until George’s death in 2023 at the age of 99 in Tucson, Ariz. Over the years, Betty returned to painting and continued until into her 80s, using her current married name of Betty Nicholls.
She mainly painted southwestern scenery and traditional dancers and people of area tribes. After George passed she moved back to Custer and her beloved Black Hills.
Betty is preceded in death by husband, George Nicholls; parents, John and Bernice; sister, Pat Polk; and grandson, Thai Blankenfeld. 
She is survived by her sister, Mary Beth (Homer) Leach; brother, Fred (Linda) Gillam; son, John (Kim) Blankenfeld; daughters, Mary (Jim) Fechner and daughter Susan Plitt; grandsons, Phi (Amber) Blankenfeld and Curtis (Katie) Fechner; as well as numerous nieces and nephews and their multiplying offspring.
Betty’s ashes will be interred at the Custer Cemetery. There are no plans for a memorial service. A gathering of family will be planned at a later date.
Condolences, stories or photographs may be left online in the guestbook of Betty’s obituary on the Chamberlain McColleys Funeral Home website (chamberlainmccolleys.com).
Cards and flowers may be sent to Custer Care and Rehab, at 1065 Montgomery St, Custer, SD 57730 in appreciation of the staff for their extraordinary care and kindness to Betty and their service to the community, or make a donation to your favorite local food bank.
Arrangements have been placed in the care of Chamberlain McColley’s Funeral Home in Custer.