Obituaries

Laroy Crow
Jun 20, 2011
Obituary for Laroy E. Crow Durango resident Laroy F. Crow died Monday, June 20, 2011, in Durango. He was 85. Laroy was born Aug. 16, 1925, in Sulfur, OK, son of Lee and Annie Crow. He grew up in Cortez, CO, and graduated from Cortez High School. He served in the Navy during World War II. He attended the old...

Margaret Glasco
Jun 17, 2011
Obituary for Margaret L. Glasco Longtime Durango resident Margaret Louise Glasco, known as Peggy, passed away peacefully at home on June 17, 2011. Peggy was born to Jean and Stewart Thompson in Fort Defiance, Arizona, on October 27, 1937. She grew up on the Navajo Nation with her sister Sydney and brother Vaughn, as her mother and father operated the...

Dorothy Gardner
Jun 14, 2011
Obituary for Dorothy E. Gardner Durango native Dorothy Evelyn Gardner died Tuesday, June 14, 2011, in Durango. She was 82. Mrs. Gardner was born to Fred and Ruth McLaughlin on Dec. 5, 1928, in Durango. She was one of seven children. She grew up in Durango and graduated from Durango High School. After marrying, Mrs. Gardner left Durango and returned...

Robert Emmanuel
Jun 14, 2011
Obituary for Robert J. Emmanuel Durango resident Robert John "Bob" Emmanuel died Tuesday, June 14, 2011, of multiple myeloma, in Durango, Colo. He was 86. Bob was born August 17, 1924, in Philadelphia, Pa., to John Stanley and Florence Emmanuel. After graduation from Upper Darby High School, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in geology from Wooster College and...

Gordon Maisch
Jun 11, 2011
Obituary for Gordon R. Maisch Silverton resident Gordon Richard Maisch died of liver cancer as a complication of Hepatitis C on Saturday, June 11, 2011, at his home by the banks of the Animas River in Silverton. He was 60. Known as “Flash,” he was born to Robert and Marguerite Maisch on March 8, 1951, in New York City. He...

Francis Packer
Jun 11, 2011
Obituary for Francis E. Packer Francis Edward "Ed" Packer died Saturday, June 11, 2011, in Durango following a lengthy illness. Private graveside services have been conducted and a memorial service will be held at the Faith Community Church of the Nazarene in Durango, Colo., on Saturday, July 9, 2011 at 3:00 p.m. Mr. Packer was born in Pagosa Springs, Colo.,...

Gleb Derujinsky JR.
Jun 9, 2011
Obituary for Gleb Derujinsky Jr. A Modern Day Polymath's Love Affair Adventure sparkled like waves In the locks of his eyes He was master of all trades A camera lens his disguise Derujinsky was his name Extreme challenges his game His jewelry on 6th street named One of A Kind His keen eye for photos will just blow your mind...

Wallis Derujinsky
Jun 9, 2011
Obituary for Wallis F. Derujinsky Wallis Fairfax “Wally” Derujinsky, 72, died Thursday, June 9, 2011 in Durango, Colorado. A gathering of friends will be held on Wednesday, June 15, 2011, from 5-7 p.m. at For The Birds, 1560 East 2nd Avenue, Durango. Wallis was born July 27, 1938 in Chicago, Ill., the daughter of G. Wallace and Dorothy Gault. Wallis...

Retha Abernathy
Jun 7, 2011
Obituary for Retha F. Abernathy Retha Faye Ryan Abernathy passed away on June 7, 2011, at the age of 70, in her home in Kirtland, N.M. She was born June 18, 1940, in Taft, Texas, to Daniel Joseph Ryan and Vera May Tackett Anderson. Her passions included art/painting, canning, and gardening. She is preceded in death by her parents, a...

Kathryn Tucker
Jun 6, 2011
Obituary for Kathryn M. Tucker Kathryn Marie Tucker died Monday, June 6, 2011, in Bayfield, Colo. She was 96. Mrs. Tucker was born January 22, 1915, in Vallejo, Calif., daughter of Fred and Anna Sheckler. The family moved from California to Hanover, Kansas, then to Enid, Okla., near Oklahoma City. Mrs. Tucker graduated from high school in Oklahoma. She then...

Gwynn Shaw
Jun 5, 2011
Obituary for Gwynn E. Shaw Gwynn E. (Sorem) Shaw, 57, died Sunday, June 5, 2011, at home, in the loving presence of her husband Alexander and daughter, Stefanie in Durango, Colo. Gwynn battled lymphoma since 2008. Gwynn’s wishes were for a private family memorial and to be cremated. A family memorial hike along the old Galloping Goose railroad bed near...

Jeraldine Golden
Jun 4, 2011
Obituary for Jeraldine S. Golden Jeraldine S. Golden died Saturday, June 4, 2011, in Durango, Colo., as the result of complications from a fall at her home. She was 89. She had lived in Durango for 23 years. Jeraldine was born April 1, 1922, in Big Flat, Ark., the daughter of Wilburn and Leona Scroggins. In 1940 after she graduated...

Flora Salazar
Jun 3, 2011
Obituary for Flora Mary Salazar Flora Mary Salazar, 77, of Ignacio, Colo., was called home by our heavenly father Friday, June 3, 2011, at her home in Ignacio, Colo. Flora was born to Juan N. Gallegos and Matilda M. Garcia Sept. 3, 1933, in Ignacio. She was the ninth child of eleven children. Her brothers were Frank, Tony, Eddie, John,...

Joseph Lechner
May 31, 2011
Obituary for Joseph H. "Toppy" Lechner Joseph Herbert “Toppy” Lechner, 91, died Tuesday, May 31, 2011, in Durango, Colorado. Cremation has occurred and no services are planned at this time Mr. Lechner was born April 8, 1920, in Durango, Colorado, the son of Joe and Georgie (Amos) Lechner and raised on the family’s homestead in Rockwood, attending elementary and secondary...

Yvonne Carlyon
May 31, 2011
Obituary for Yvonne Y. Carlyon Longtime Durango resident Yvonne Yolande Carlyon died after a brief illness Tuesday, May 31, 2011, at Mercy Regional Medical Center. She was 96. Mrs. Carlyon was born to Eugene and Henriette Zingg on March 20, 1915, in Bern, Switzerland. She worked as an elevator operator in a department store in Switzerland and wanted to travel...

Richard Campbell
May 30, 2011
Obituary for Richard L. Campbell Ignacio resident Richard Lee Campbell died Monday, May 30, 2011, at home. He was 57. Rich Campbell was born September 23, 1953, in Telluride Colo., to Rollie and Mary Lou Campbell. Rich married Debra Ann Kolstad in Shasta County, Calif., in 1975, divorcing later. They moved to Tacoma, Wash., shortly after marriage. Rich worked as...

Betty Koon
May 30, 2011
Obituary for Betty Koon Durango native Betty Koon died Monday, May 30, 2011, at her daughter's home in Crossville, Tenn., of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She was 87. Mrs. Koon was born October 26, 1923, in Durango, Colo., to Orville and Clara Schumacher Cowan (Schaeferhoff). She was raised by her mother and stepfather, “Papa” Joseph Schaeferhoff, in Durango, and graduated...

John Nickerson
May 29, 2011
Obituary for John H. "Nick" Nickerson Bayfield resident, John Henry "Nick" Nickerson, 87, died peacefully at his home on May 29, 2011, after a courageous fight with cancer. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on April 12, 1924, the son of Lester Emery Nickerson and Anna Madeline (Cooley) Nickerson. Nick served as a pilot in the Marine Corps during World...

Jean Howlett
May 24, 2011
Obituary for Jean L. Howlett Jean L. Howlett, a resident of Bayfield, died Tuesday May 24, 2011, in Durango, while surrounded by family. She was 79. Mrs. Howlett was born to George and Jennie Irwin Parrish in Minneapolis, Minn., on January 15, 1932. She graduated from South High School in Minneapolis June 1949, and married Don Howlett January 1955. Jean...

Jerry McVay
May 23, 2011
Obituary for Jerry Dean McVay Jerry Dean McVay died Monday, May 23, 2011, at home in Durango, Colo. He was 60. Jerry was born August 24, 1950, in Iowa, son of Gerald and Mildred McVay. Jerry lived in Iowa, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and Arkansas. He lived in Arkansas for 22 years before moving to Durango after his mother's death....