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Paul Robert ‘Bob’ Merry
A memorial service will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Hood Mortuary for Paul Robert ‘Bob’ Merry, a longtime Bayfield resident, who died Sunday, April 29, 2001, at Mercy Medical Center.
He was 79. The cause of death was not disclosed.
Chaplain Myron Darmour will officiate at the service.
Mr. Merry was born May 15, 1921, in Kansas City, Mo. He joined the U. S. Navy in December 1941 and served in World War II as a communications officer. During the war he married Berneice Lyddon, a medical social worker, in June 1943.
Mr. Merry received a master’s in business degree from the University of Denver and a doctorate from Northwestern University.
He was a professor of Statistics and Research Methods at the University of Denver from 1949-80. He was a member of the American Statistical Association, American Marketing Association and Beta Gamma Sigma.
In 1988, Mr. Merry moved from Denver to retire in Bayfield, where he ranched, traveled and enjoyed the outdoors.
He was an active member of the VFW Post in Bayfield and the San Juan Audubon Society. He was a founding member of the Survivors of Suicide/Heartbeat support group in Durango.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Berneice Merry, and son, Mark Lyddon Merry.
He is survived by a daughter, Marcia Merry Morales of Bayfield; a sister, Elinor Steinbrueck of Raymore, Mo.; five granddaughters, Megan Lou Merry, Gretchen Ray Merry, Marcia Paloma, Elisa Berenice and Andrea Paul-Etta Morales of Durango; and many nieces and nephews.
Memorial donations may be sent to the Paul R. Merry Memorial Fund, c/o the San Juan Audubon Society, P.O. Box 2716, Durango, CO 81302.
Ida Celia Garcia
A funeral will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church for Ida Celia Garcia, a life-long resident of Durango, who died Saturday, April 28, 2001, in Durango from an extended illness. She was 71.
Burial will occur at Greenmount Cemetery. A rosary service will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
Mrs. Garcia was born Feb. 13, 1930, in Durango. She married Fred J. Garcia on Nov. 16, 1949, in Durango. Mrs. Garcia worked at Woolworth’s for many years and later in life she was a store and business owner along with her husband. She foster parented many children during the years, and she was very involved at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Mrs. Garcia was a devoted and loving wife, mother, grandmother and sister.
She is survived by two sons, Frederick Wayne Garcia, and Randy Benito Lee Garcia both of Durango; two brothers, Sam Lopez of Durango, and Benito E. Lopez of Salt Lake City, Utah; her grandchildren, Daniel, James, Victor, Tommy and Nicole Garcia, and Terra Montoya all of Durango, and Nathan Trujillo of Colorado Springs; and a great-grandchild, Jenika Patterson of Durango.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Fred, on Sept. 12, 1990.
Memorial contributions may be made to American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 931, Durango, CO 81302.
Kenneth P. Dowd
A funeral will be at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church for Kenneth P. Dowd, a native of Colorado, who died April 25, 2001, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction. He was 84.
The Rev. Andrew Cooley will officiate at services. Internment will follow in the columbarium garden of St. Mark’s.
Mr. Dowd was born in Sept. 13, 1916, in Delta, Colo., and graduated from Denver University and Columbia Teachers College. He married Alma Kay of Pueblo in 1940.
After teaching high school in Canon City and Upper Montclair, N.J., Mr. Dowd taught English and drama at Hobart and William Smith colleges in Geneva, N.Y.
Following his teaching career he joined the sales force of Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Co. in Hartford, Conn., where he later became that company’s training officer and introduced video technology to the industry. During his years at Hartford, Mr. Dowd directed numerous local theater groups and sang in The Hartford Choral Club. After retiring from Phoenix Mutual in 1974, he came to Durango as sales manager of Tammaron Resort where he worked until 1988.
Mr. Dowd served on the boards of the local Manna Soup Kitchen, Community Concert Association, Hermosa Sanitation District and the Vestry of St. Mark’s Church. He will be remembered for his lively participation in Durango’s Barbershop Chorus.
He is survived by his wife, Alma; a sister, Marjorie Hubbard of Palm Springs, Calif.; three sons, Fred of Casper, Wyo., Scott of Redwood City, Calif., and Jeff of Santa Fe, N.M.; a daughter, Kendra of West Hartford, Conn.; eight grandchildren, five great-grandchildren; two nieces; and one nephew.
He is preceded in death by a daughter, Deborah Kay.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to any of the following: St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Columbarium Fund, The Manna Soup Kitchen or the Durango Society of Barbershop Singers.
Nellie Marie Zelhart
A graveside service will be at 1 p.m. Monday at Pleasant Grove Cemetery
in McLeansboro, Ill., for Nellie Marie Zelhart, who died Thursday, April 26, 2001, at Four Corners Health Care Center of natural causes. She was 97.
Mrs. Zelhart was born Dec. 19, 1903, in McLeansboro.
She married Willie Edward Zelhart on Sept. 18, 1921, in McLeansboro.
Mrs. Zelhart was a homemaker and mother of four. She served as a psychiatric aide at the Manteno State Hospital in Manteno, Ill., for 17 years.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Willie Edward Zelhart; a son, Charles Forrest Zelhart of Odin, Ill.; and two daughters, Barbara Jean Mitchell of Wood River, Ill., and Audrey Drew of Wood River, Ill.
She is survived by one son, Richard Zelhart of Durango; 12 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandchild.
Rena V. ‘Kay’ Coombes
A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. today, April 28, at Zion Baptist Church in Ignacio for Rena V. "Kay" Coombes, who died at her home in Ignacio on Tuesday, April 24, 2001, of natural causes. She was 92.
Pastor Roedell Schmitt will officiate at the service. Cremation will be at Hood Mortuary Crematory in Durango.
Mrs. Coombes was born on June 29, 1908, in Dewey, Okla. She married Albert H. Coombes on April 3, 1946, in Big Springs, Texas.
Mrs. Coombes was a veteran of World War II. She was a homemaker, hunter and outdoorswoman. She was a member of the Zion Baptist Church of Ignacio.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Albert H. Coombes; and two sons, Ray Gibson and Urban Gibson.
She is survived by several grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
Floyd A. Riegel
A memorial service will be at 9:30 a.m. Friday at Christ The King Lutheran Church of Durango for Floyd A. Riegel, a Durango resident for 28 years, who died Thursday, April 26, 2001, at Four Corners Health Care Center of complications with Parkinson’s disease. He was 81. Pastor Cecil Brown will officiate at the service.
Mr. Riegel was born Feb. 11, 1920. He was married to Dorthy Riegel for 60 years.
Mr. Riegel was a construction superintendent and worked on many projects within the community, including Sheraton Tamarron Resort.
He is survived by his wife, Dorthy Riegel; two daughters, Joyce Monger of Twin Falls, Idaho, and Veloria Hose of Durango; a son, Gary Riegel of Durango; eight grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Maurine Blackley
Services were held Thursday at the First Baptist Church of Morton, Texas, for Maurine Blackley, who died Monday, April 23, 2001, at Cochran Memorial Hospital in Morton, Texas. She was 88.
Rev. Jim Green officiated at the services. Burial was at Morton Memorial Cemetery
of Morton, Texas.
Mrs. Blackley was born May 15, 1912 in Sagerton, Texas. She married Vernon Blackley in Walters, Okla., on Oct. 18, 1931.
Mrs. Blackley, a homemaker, was an active church member and Sunday school teacher of the First Baptist Church of Morton, Texas.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Vernon, and a daughter, Susan McAnelly.
She is survived by three daughters, Beverly Walthall of Durango, Nancy Ellis of Ruidoso, N.M., and Judy Coleman of Morton, Texas; 11 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren.
Contributions can be sent to the First Baptist Church, 202 SE First, Morton, Texas 79346, or to a favorite charity.
Marvin J. Stone
A funeral will be at 3 p.m. Saturday at Hood Mortuary for Marvin J. Stone, a 20-plus year resident of Durango, who died Tuesday, April 24, 2001 at Four Corners Health Care Center of natural causes. He was 91.
The Rev. Jerry Boles will officiate at services. Burial will be at Greenmount Cemetery.
Mr. Stone was born Oct. 27, 1909, in Ramona, Okla.
He married Cleone West on March 25, 1935, in Pampa, Texas.
Mr. Stone was a 50-year member of the Masonic Lodge and worked for Phillips Petroleum.
He was an outdoorsman, lover of fly fishing and camping, and a trainer of pointing dogs. He came to Durango for retirement in 1978.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Cleone.
He is survived by a daughter, Su Wilson of Durango; four grandsons; and nine great-grandchildren.
