Beth Parker Tallmadge

Beth Parker Tallmadge, 69, of Lakewood, Colorado passed away on October 8 2026. Beth died due to complications of cancer. Beth loved being a wife, a sister, and a daughter.

Beth is survived by her beloved husband Shad Z Daly, her older sister Jane S Tallmadge of Medford, NJ, younger sister Susan T (Ken) Naughton of Myerstown, PA, nephew Joseph P (wife Jessica) Naughton, and 4 nieces and nephews on Shad’s side. She was preceded in death by her mother in 1988 and her father in 2008.

Beth wanted everyone to know that she felt blessed to have lived a generally grand and happy life, with wide-reaching travels, surrounded by lots of love from great family and friends. She was well-versed in writing bad emails at work that would get her in trouble, but also firmly believed in good karma coming her way, especially with parking spots.

Beth was born on August 17, 1957 in New Haven, CT to Professor John A Tallmadge Jr and Ruth S Tallmadge. Her chubby toddler days in Connecticut were spent chasing after all the older kids in the neighborhood, yelling “wait for me!” In 1965, the family spent 6 months in Europe. The family traveled by ship to Europe, picked up their pre-ordered Peugeot in Paris, and toured around multiple countries for 3 months. Then they lived in London where the sisters attended public school in uniforms and ate strange British food. After coming back to the US, they settled near Philadelphia in Wayne, PA. Beth graduated from Radnor High School, Radnor, PA in June 1975. After studying Biology at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh for 2 years (with a small National Merit Scholarship), she changed direction and took a year off between colleges to live with her sister Jane. She eventually graduated from Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA in 1981 with a BS in Business Management. She let the idea of a STEM life in research science and being the world’s foremost expert on phosphorescence (her 8th grade dream career) fizzle away and gave up on writing exam questions for the SATs (her dream career in college).

Beth’s family spent summers traveling extensively, often on camping trips visiting national parks and monuments. Her parents threw great dinner parties and hosted many bridge games. In 1974, Beth accompanied her father on a summer-long trip (our summer, their winter) to Sydney, Australia, where she attended Sydney Girls High when she and her father weren’t otherwise traveling around the country.

Although looking more like her mother, Beth had her dad’s hazel green eyes. He loved pro baseball (first the Yankees, then the Phillies), plays and operas, traveling and long road trips, relaxing at the beach, puns/limericks, and laughing hard – traits and passions which he passed down to her.

After college, Beth began a career in bookkeeping and accounting, first at the U-Seal-It Company and then for the Philadelphia Stars in the USFL (United States Football League). In 1985 the USFL folded, and Beth left Philadelphia. She took 3 weeks to drive cross-country alone to move to the San Francisco Bay area, choosing a city where she already had several friends. On that long solo drive west, at age 27 she went through the last 3 states she needed to complete a visit to all 50 states (Oklahoma was #50!). Within a couple of weeks after arriving in California, she was working for UCSF, renting a room from a stranger who became a friend, and commuting into the city from the east bay town of Alameda.

After a fun year working in San Francisco, in Oct 1986 Beth followed her housemate and moved east to Atlanta. After her mother’s death in 1988, she bought her first house (a 1920s fixer-upper in Candler Park, Atlanta) with her inheritance. Then spent much more money on renovating the house.

Immediately after attending many events at the hometown 1996 Atlanta Olympics and once again needing a job, Beth moved to Colorado for what was supposed to be a short contract job at Boston Market’s support office in Golden, CO. Deciding to stay on, Beth sold her house back in Atlanta in 1998. That same year she met her husband Shad at the Boston Market office when he came to work there on the day they declared bankruptcy (but stayed open). She bought a townhouse in Lakewood in 2000 and Shad moved in with her in 2002. They married in Wheat Ridge, CO in May 2005. Beth introduced Shad to her love of frequent and widespread travel. They shared a mutual passion for Disney theme parks and movies. In addition to many trips to Disneyland and Walt Disney World (where Beth also worked twice), Shad and Beth traveled to 42 US states and 3 foreign countries together. She looked forward to seeing extended family at far-flung family reunions. Her favorite travel “happy place” was Key West, reached by driving the scenic US1 down the Florida Keys.

In the late 1980s, Beth’s career path shifted from accounting to information technology support positions. Beth’s 30+ year specialization in restaurant point of sale software included positions at software companies that developed restaurant software applications (including Fisher Restaurant Systems, MicroBilt, Compris Technologies, Siva) and at the corporate offices of large restaurant groups (including Houston’s Restaurants, Boston Market, Walt Disney World, Einstein’s Bros Bagels, Burger King, Noodles & Company). She also had a 3-year stint as a remote technical writer for IBM. Beth really loved supporting restaurants, which included onsite software/hardware installations, help desk support, software QA testing, end-user training, technical writing, and team management. Beth was laid off from Noodles & Co. in April 2020 due to Covid-19 and began official retirement in 2023.

In her youth and young adulthood, Beth spent nearly 20 years in Girl Scouting, many of those as a troop leader. In Colorado, Beth was a member of a Book Club for over 25 years. Being a fast reader she was notorious for waiting to read the book until the day before a discussion. She passionately supported pro-choice progressive causes and worked as a volunteer on Democratic political campaigns everywhere she lived. She liked board games and loved playing team trivia. During her later years she was active in the Denver Postcard Club as a collector and officer, as well as writing the club’s monthly newsletter. She led the club as president during the rough pandemic years. She liked to cook and especially liked going out for breakfast. Beth loved Dunkin coffee, rare prime rib, and wavy potato chips. She and her husband often owned a cat or two, and she usually drove her minivans into the ground before replacing them.

In January 2024, Beth was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. The cancer had spread to her bones by the time it was caught, and she experienced a broken hip. Though the MBC had mostly stabilized with medication, in October 2025 Beth was diagnosed with yet another cancer – stage 3C metastatic uterine cancer - and had to go through further chemotherapy.

In addition to her best friend/husband Shad and her much-loved mom and sisters, Beth wants to thank the many family and friends who supported her at pivotal junctures over the years, particularly (in approximate order of appearance): Trish K, Sarah S, Karen T, Sue S, J Channing W, Dan E, John W, the late Dr Mike R, Nancy S, Jim DeA, Michiele I, Patience F, Mike T, Sharon D, the late Bill J, Joe M, Kathy K, Tom L, Dave W, Alisa P, Kent McF, Randi Z, the late Ellyn M, Randy C, Lisa F, Jane and Bob B, Scott S and Jene A, LaVada T, Amanda F, the whole Book Club, Dede H, Debbie and Jenny S, and Karen and Chris L. Apologies to the many other beloved friends not mentioned here by name. Each of you was instrumental in facilitating positive turning points or happy adventures in her life and she bids you a special Love You and Thanks!

Contributions can be made in Beth’s memory to Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains or the ACLU. Plans for a celebration of life service are being finalized – Watch this space.

Written by Beth Tallmadge.