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Martin Lyle Stewart
April 17, 1998
Funeral services will be 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Bayfield Church of Christ of Latter-day Saints for Martin Lyle Stewart, a 30-year gas industry employee, who died Friday, April 17, 1998, in Ignacio after a short illness. He was 70.
Bishop Monte Miller will officiate at services. Interment will be at Bayfield Cemetery.
Mr. Stewart was born July 3, 1927, in Thatcher, Ariz. He graduated from Safford (Arizona) High School in 1946, where he was an all-American center on the school’s football team.
After high school he moved to Mesa, Ariz., to work with his father and brother in the dairy business. There, he met Norma Ruth Resley, whom he married May 3, 1948.
In 1951 Mr. Stewart went to work for El Paso Natural Gas Co. in Farmington, N.M. He was promoted to field superintendent in 1953 at the Blanco field, where he was responsible for more than 600 wells and many employees.
After 30 years, he retired from the gas business and spent his time ranching and farming.
Mr. Stewart is survived by his wife, Norma, of Ignacio; two sons, Steven Lyle Stewart of Durango and Lyle Stewart Jr. of Bayfield; four daughters, Candace Dial of Aztec, N.M., Crystal Ross of Ignacio, Stacy Basinger of Grand Junction, Colo., and Tracy Rodeback of Ignacio; and two sisters, Leva Jean Kempton of Socorro, N.M., and Carma Neese of Mesa, Ariz.
Ila Slade Flower
April 17, 1998
Graveside services will be 10 a.m. Wednesday at Red Mesa Cemetery
in Mesa, Colo., for Ila Slade Flower, a former Navajo art dealer, who died Friday, April 17, 1998, in St. George, Utah. She was 79.
Mrs. Flower was born Sept. 7, 1918, in Kline, Colo. She married Charles Ruford Flower Nov. 9, 1936, in Aztec, N.M. Their marriage was solemnized in 1948 in the Mesa Church of Latter-day Saints temple.
Mrs. Flower was an active member of her church. She was an avid gardener and enjoyed handiwork. She ran a curio shop in Winslow, Ariz., and dealt Navajo fine art.
Mrs. Flower is survived by a son, Charles Randall Flower of Ivins, Utah; a sister, June Gardner of Winslow, Ariz.; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Charles.
Kathryn Dale Erler
April 15, 1998
A memorial service will be 2 p.m. Saturday at the home of Charlie and Ivy Gaines in Durango for Kathryn Dale Erler, an Animas City/Hermosa Valley native who died Wednesday, April 15, 1998, at Centura Health-Mercy Medical Center. She was 89.
Chaplain Mike Darmour will officiate.
Mrs. Erler was born April 22, 1908, 38 years after the founding of Animas City. During her young years, she helped on the homesteads of the Gaines families. She was the granddaughter of Dan and Belle Gaines Culver and a cousin of Charlie Gaines of Durango and the late Bertha Gaines Hubertus.
As a young adult, she worked as a phone operator in the area. She then married and traveled abroad but always found herself back near her family.
Mrs. Erler collected antiques and old pawn turquoise, and was known as an historical storyteller of the area.
She was preceded in death by three husbands.
Survivors include her cousins, Charlie Gaines of Durango, Ron Gaines of Vancouver, Wash., Carolyn Gaines of Silver City, N.M., Patti Tobin of Susanville, Calif., Tom Hubertus, Susan Hubertus, Steve Hubertus, Shelley Hubertus, all of Durango, Michael Hubertus of Pagosa Springs and numerous other relatives.
Ottilia M. Chitwood
April 15, 1998
A Mass of Christian Burial will be 10 a.m. Monday at St. Columba Catholic Church for Ottilia M. Chitwood, a lifelong Durango resident, who died Wednesday, April 15, 1998, in Durango. She was 88.
The Rev. Mike McCleary will officiate at services.
Mrs. Chitwood was born Nov. 27, 1909, in Durango. She was a homemaker for her and Frank Schoser’s families when her sister died at an early age. She was known for her knitting, crocheting and quilting.
She is survived by two sons, Richard Chitwood of Frederick, Md., and Ronald Chitwood of Benton City, Wash.; a daughter, Patricia Quink of Crownpoint, N.M.; 16 grandchildren; and 23 great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Andrew Johnson Chitwood, in 1963; and a daughter, Margie Marie (Joy) Sauer in 1990.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. Columba Catholic Church, 1830 East Second Ave., Durango, CO 81301.
Florence Kiteley Griffith
April 10, 1998
Florence Kiteley Griffith died Friday, April 10, 1998, in Durango. She was 77.
The family will receive friends from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at their home at 2019 Eastlawn Ave.
Mrs. Griffith was born Oct. 13, 1920, in Longmont, Colo. She married Dale Griffith before he entered the service in World War II.
Mrs. Griffith attended school at Colorado Women’s College and Western State College, receiving her degree in art.
Mrs. Griffith moved to Durango in 1975. She enjoyed gardening.
She was preceded in death by her husband in 1972 and by a step-daughter, Marilyn Ciccolani.
Survivors include her daughter, Jean Campion of Durango; brothers, Tom and Ernest Kiteley, both of Longmont, Colo.; sister, Margaret Sparkman of Boise, Idaho; three grandchildren and three step-grandchildren.
Memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Mercy, 3801 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301, or to the Friends of Colorado Talking Book Library, 180 Sheridan Blvd., Denver, CO 80226-8097.
LaVange Ward
April 9, 1998
Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Monday at Seventh-Day Adventist Church for LaVange Ward, longtime Durango resident, who died Thursday, April 9, 1998, at home. She was 85.
The Rev. Tom Lemon will officiate at the memorial service.
Mrs. Ward was born June 16, 1912, in Nowata, Okla. She married Ed Ward Nov. 8, 1935, in Delta before moving to Durango in 1945.
She was a member of the Animas and Pamona granges where she was involved in the Kitchen Club. She was also active with the Community Hospital Auxiliary. Mrs. Ward won many awards in local and state fairs for her needlework. She worked at City Market for 14 years.
She is survived by her husband, Ed Ward of Durango; two daughters, Barbara Bennett of Pueblo, Colo., and Kristine Poer of Durango; seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Mercy, 3801 Main Ave., Durango, CO 81301.
Ernestine Haag Ragsdale Rupe
April 8, 1998
A graveside service will be 10 a.m. Saturday at City Cemetery
in Poplar Bluff, Mo., for Ernestine Haag Ragsdale Rupe, who died Wednesday, April 8, 1998, in Mesa, Ariz. She was 83.
The Rev. Daniel Snider will officiate.
Mrs. Rupe was born Nov. 15, 1914, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. She later was a resident of Hermosa Orchards in Durango and a resident of Mesa, Ariz.
She married John Franklin Ragsdale Feb. 14, 1937. He preceded her in death in 1972. In 1981, she married Jackson Rupe.
Mrs. Rupe was a homemaker and was a member of the First Presbyterian Church.
Survivors include her husband, Jackson Rupe of Mesa, Ariz.; sons, John Ragsdale of Tucson, Ariz., and David Ragsdale of Gig Harbor, Wash.; sister, Louise Bacon of Olathe, Colo.; five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.
Alexander G. ‘Steve’ Park
April 8, 1998
No services are planned for Alexander G. Park, known as Steve to his friends, who died Wednesday, April 8, 1998, at his home in Durango. He was 77.
Mr. Park was born July 19, 1920, in Boston, Mass. He received his bachelor of arts and master of arts degrees from the University of Iowa at Iowa City, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta social fraternity and Phi Delta Kappa journalism fraternity.
Mr. Park earned a second master of arts degree from the Russian Institute, Columbia University, New York, and a doctorate, also from Columbia. In addition, he received a law degree from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
Mr. Park taught for five years as an assistant professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Minnesota. He then worked in the Foreign Research Section of the Library of Congress and later as head of the Russian desk of the U.S. Information Agency in Washington, D.C.
Upon retirement from the federal government, Mr. Park practiced law for 10 years in Washington, D.C., and Maryland.
Mr. Park was a veteran of World War II, and he received the Bronze Star.
Survivors include his wife, Jeanne Park; sons, Robert Park of Albuquerque, and Steven Park of Potomac, Md.; daughter, Elizabeth Beck of Arlington, Va., and three grandchildren.
