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Curtis M. King
Curtis M. King, a teacher, counselor and coach for more than 31 years in Colorado and California, passed away on April 6, 2000. Curtis was on the faculty of Cortez High School in 1946. He died of a sudden heart attack in Concord, Calif. He was 79.
The native of Farmington, N.M., was born Nov. 28, 1922. He attended Fort Lewis College and was honored as an outstanding athlete. He married Althea Koppenhafer of Cortez in 1942.
He served in the United States Army Air Force as part of the bomber crews that flew missions from England to the Continent. He received several medals and citations, including a Presidential Citation.
He returned to the Cortez area at the end of the war. He began teaching and coaching at Cortez High School in 1946.
He was also a small businessman in Cortez. His teaching career continued, as did his coaching across Colorado, until he became principal of Springfield High School. Curtis completed additional levels of education at the University of Utah in 1959. It was there that he was recruited to teach in California.
As a hobby in non-sports seasons, Curtis obtained construction license ad personally completed the building of his home in Walnut Creek from the foundation to the roof. He also built a cabin in Lake Tahoe and hundreds of woodworking projects.
His spare time was also spent with sports of all sorts. He was an avid skier, tennis player, bowler and golfer. His favorite sport was participating and coaching his two grandsons in their chosen high school sports, football place-kicking and tennis, respectively.
Both Mr. and Mrs. King returned to Cortez last August to attend the 50 year reunion of the classes of Cortez High School.
Curtis is survived by his wife of 58 years. Althea King; son Loren D. King of Salinas, Calif., wife Nancy and son Christopher; daughter, Aleita Huguenin of Concord, Calif., and grandson, Derek Hildebrand.
A memorial service was held on Monday, April 11, in Concord, Calif., and attended by hundreds of Curtis' friends, faculty members and students.
Memorial donations may be made to Los Lomas High School Foundation, 1460 S. main St., Walnut Creek, CA 94596.
Donna Marie Weeks
Graveside services for Donna Marie Weeks, 65, of Towaoc, will be held Thursday, May 25, 2000, at the Towaoc Cemetery
beginning at 10 a.m. Officiating will be Sister Lois Wooten and Brother Mac Coyote of The Chapel. Donna was a member of The Chapel church for many years.
Donna was born in Towaoc, Colo., on Jan. 7, 1935 to Toby Weeks and Chictia Alice Lang. She passed away at Southwest Memorial Hospital on Monday, May 22, 2000.
Surviving Donna is a son, Gilbert Dutchie, of Towaoc; her mother, Chictia Lang, of Towaoc; a grandson, Terance Dutchie, of Towaoc; and a great-grandson, Torance Dutchie, of Towaoc. She also is survived by a nephew, Nathan Dutchie, of Towaoc; four sisters, Clara Dutchie, Ruby Moreno, and Christine Weeks, all of Towaoc, and Bernice Weeks, of Alburquerque, N.M.; by a brother, Alvin Weeks, also of Towaoc; and many nieces, nephews, and friends.
Donna was preceded in death by her father; a son, Delbert Dutchie; three brothers, Paul Dutchie Sr., Kern Dutchie Sr., and Pedro Dutchie; and one sister, Bonnie Reid.
Services will be under the direction of Ertel Funeral home.
Thadyne Ruth Freeman
Funeral services for Thadyne Ruth Freeman, a longtime Cortez resident, will be held Saturday, May 20, at the Ertel Memorial Chapel beginning at 2 p.m. Pastor Jimmy Kennedy of the First Southern Baptist Church will officiate. Interment will be held Monday, May 22, at the Orchard Mesa Cemetery
in Grand Junction, Colo., at 10 a.m.
Thadyne was born in Lubbock, Texas on Aug. 19, 1917. She passed away at Southwest Memorial Hospital on Thursday, May 18, 2000, at the age of 82.
Thadyne was a Past Worthy Matron of the Order of Eastern Star, and was a member of the Kitchen Band. She could really play the "Gut Bucket" very well.
Surviving Thadyne are her children, Ray M. Freeman Jr., of Grand Junction; Judith Ann Freeman Hall, of Barstow, Calif.; and Richard Bradley Freeman, of Arvada, Colo.; eight grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren; and her step-brother, Les Landry, of Grand Junction.
Preceding Thadyne in death were her parents, Thomas King and Ruth Blanche (Dear) King; her husband, Ray Maurice Freeman Sr., on Dec. 9, 1998; and a son, Warren Dale Freeman, in 1941.
The Ertel Funeral Home will conduct the services and interment.
Fred P. Lancaster Jr.
Services for Fred P. Lancaster Jr., who resided in this area for many years, are tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, May 23.
Mr. Lancaster passed away at Desert Samaritan Hospital in Mesa, Ariz., on Friday, May 19, 2000.
His wife, Virginia Lancaster, and his daughter, Debbie Fowler, of Mesa, Ariz., survive him. His son, Douglas Lancaster, preceded him in death in 1992.
For information regarding time and place of services, please contact Ertel Funeral Home at 565-3468.
Arianna Iris Nelson
Funeral services for Arianna Iris Nelson, infant daughter of Wayne and Fabrienne (Billy) Nelson, will be held Thursday, May 18, 2000, at the Ertel Memorial Chapel beginning at 10 a.m. Interment will follow at the Cortez Cemetery. Officiating will be Pastor David Dahl of the Trinity Lutheran Church.
Arianna was born March 2, 2000 in Shiprock, N. M. She passed away in Murray, Utah, on May 15, 2000, at the age of 2 months and 13 days.
A loving family is left behind to mourn her passing. She is survived by her parents, Wayne and Fabrienne Nelson, of Murray, Utah, as well as her sister, Sabrina Chenoa Nelson, and her brother, Garrett Gerrard Nelson. Arianna is survived by two grandmothers, Patsy Kelly, of Montezuma Creek, Utah, and Linda Schweigert, of Aberdeen, S.D.; a grandfather, Harold Ray Billy, of Hatch, Utah; a great-grandfather, John Rhoerrich, of Aberdeen, S.D.; and a host of aunts, uncles, cousins, and extended family.
Services will be under the direction of the Ertel Funeral Home.
Daniel C. Wadsworth
Daniel C. Wadsworth, a longtime Colorado rancher who was born in Del Norte, passed away on Monday, May 15, 2000. He was 87. Services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, May 19, at Blackburn-Shaw Memorial Chapel, Amarillo Texas. For more information, call 806-376-6443.
Barbara Mae Evans
Barbara Mae Evans, 84, died Thursday, May 11, 2000, in Durango, Colo. A graveside service will be held Monday, May 22, at 2 p.m. in Greenmount Cemetery. Her death was the result of a lengthy illness.
Mrs. Evans was born Sept. 13, 1915, in Arriola, Colo., the daughter of Wilbur and Ruby Bishop. She began her teaching career at age 19 at McPhee School, teaching kindergarten through 12th grade. She married Robert Roy Evans on May 7, 1943, at Aztec, N.M. Mrs. Evans attended college at the old Ft. Lewis campus for two years; she obtained her B.A. at Western State in 1956, and her masters degree at Adams State in 1970.
Mrs. Evans moved to Durango in 1946, where she and her husband had their only child, Diana, in 1946. She began teaching at Park Elementary School in 1946, where she taught for 30 years. Mrs. Evans and her husband joined the Durango Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1948. Her last eight years of teaching were spent at Mason elementary School Teaching special education students.
Mrs. Evans retired in 1979. She was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma in Durango (a retired teacher’s association) and will be remembered as an extremely gifted teacher.
She is survived by daughter and son-in-law Diana and Bryant Robb of Mancos; grandsons Radburn Robb of Satellite Beach, Fla., Randon Robb of Mancos, Raegan Robb of Ft. Collins, Colo.; granddaughter Amanda Carey of Colorado Springs, Colo.; two great-grandsons; three great-granddaughters; brother Willard Bishop of Cortez; and sisters Minnie Ashby of Albuquerque, Nelta Wilson of Aurora, Colo., and Mrs. Robert "Pearl" Bishop of Arriola.
Her husband Robert, sister Billie Hall, and brother Robert Bishop preceded her in death.
Hood Mortuary is handling the arrangements.
Anita Winbourn McCormick
Anita Winbourn was born April 1, 1911, on the Ritter Place about two miles west of Dolores. She was the first child of Kittie Dillon Winbourn and Edward A. Winbourn, both from families of early Montezuma Valley pioneers.
Nita, as she was called, spent her early years with her family in Lewis, and Grants Pass, Ore. The family returned to Lewis in 1928, where she attended the old Fort Lewis College at Hesperus for the two years necessary to attain a teaching credential. She taught at the Upper McElmo School, at Ackman, and at Fish creek, a few miles below Dunton.
In 1933, Nita and Paul A. McCormick of Dolores were married in Silverton. They lived in Dolores for several years where two children, Ronald and Kathleen, were born. The family moved to San Diego, Calif., where their youngest daughter, Carolyn, was born. Nita completed her education at San Diego State University, where she received a bachelor of arts degree.
She returned to Cortez to care for her parents in 1960. She then worked for the Department of Social Services until her retirement in 1979. One of the things she enjoyed most was the outdoors. She loved hiking in the mountains and taking rubber raft trips on the rivers in the Four Corners region. Her hobbies included collecting bottles and other relics from mining camps that were active in the heyday of the Colorado silver boom.
Nita’s family and friends have many wonderful memories of her and will always cherish her unselfish nature. She always put the needs of others above her needs, and she devoted herself to raising her children. When her parents needed her, she returned to Colorado, and devoted the next 30 years of her life to caring for them and her sister Lorna. Her children Ronald McCormick, Kathleen Anderson and Carolyn Goodall; five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren survive her.
Nita McCormick passed away Dec. 11, 1999, at the Valley Inn Nursing Home in Mancos, at the age of 88. A private memorial service is planned for late summer.
Lorraine I. Beyale
Funeral services for Lorraine I. Beyale are pending with the Ertel Funeral Home. Mrs. Beyale passed away at the Valley Inn Nursing Home on Sunday, May 14, 2000, at the age of 83.
For further service information and scheduling, please contact the Ertel Funeral Home at 565-3468.
Rita L. Bridgewater
Graveside services for Rita L. Bridgewater will be held Friday, May 19, 2000, at the Cedar Grove Cemetery
in Mancos beginning at 2 p.m. Officiating will be Darrell Veach.
Rita, a lifelong resident of this area, passed away at her home in Cortez on Saturday, May 13, 2000, at the age of 78. She was born in Akron, Ohio, on Jan. 18, 1922, the daughter of Robert M. Saulters and Mary Adeline (Goodwin) Saulters.
She is survived by her husband, Harold Bridgewater, of Cortez; her daughter, Mary Louisa Pyle, also of Cortez; three grandsons, Randy, Rob and Rick Kirks; and five great-grandchildren, Wylder Wilson, Wiley Kirks, Mayan Kirks, Weslie Kirks, and Aura Kirks. A brother and his wife, Williams R. and Gladys Saulters, also survive Rita, as do two nephews, Rusell and Robert Saulters; and two nieces, Billie Ruth and Dawnie Sue. Her parents preceded Rita in death.
Memorial contributions can be made in Rita Bridgewater's name with Hospice of Montezuma. Services will be under the direction of the Ertel Funeral Home.
Leonard Owen Wyatt
Leonard Owen Wyatt, a longtime resident of Cahone, passed away at his home on Saturday, May 13, 2000, at the age of 87. Graveside services will be held at the Big Cabin Cemetery
in Big Cabin, Okla., on Saturday, May 20, 2000, beginning at 2 p.m. Rev. W. Eugene Kay will be officiating.
Leonard was born in Bernice, Okla., on Aug. 7, 1913, to Robert Wyatt and Nancy (Wilkie) Wyatt.
Surviving Leonard are his children, Leonard Kendall Wyatt, of Thousand Oaks, Calif.; Bill Dale Wyatt, of Kingman, Ariz.; Linda Kay Hunter, of Santa Maria, Calif.; and Randall Lynn Wyatt, of Cahone, Colo. 19 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. A brother, Bill Wyatt; and five sisters, Madge, Faye, Maxine, Betty, and Nadine also survive him. Leonard's wife, Cathrena Maude (Rice) Wyatt, preceded him in death on Aug. 8, 1998, as did his parents.
Arrangements are being made through the Ertel Funeral Home.
