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Pauline Florence Kahlor Pinkstaff
A celebration of life will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Hood Mortuary Chapel for Pauline Florence Kahlor Pinkstaff, who died Monday, Dec. 27, 1999, at Frene Valley Rehab Center in Hermann, Mo., after an extended illness. She was 82.
The Rev. Jim Brown will officiate. Burial will be at Crestview Cemetery.
Mrs. Pinkstaff was born March 25, 1917, in Sulpher, Okla. After high school, she attended Oklahoma Baptist University. She married Melvin Kahlor in 1936, and they had three daughters. They later divorced.
In 1960, she married Everett "Pinky" Pinkstaff.
Mrs. Pinkstaff lived in Tucson, Ariz., and San Diego, Calif., before moving to Durango in 1952. She worked as a checker with City Market on Main Avenue for many years. She also worked for the U.S. Forest Service and Onstott Insurance Adjusters before her retirement.
Mrs. Pinkstaff was active in the World War I Auxiliary and served as past president. She was instrumental in forming the Senior Citizens Program in Durango, now known as the Durango-La Plata Senior Center.
She was preceded in death by her husband in 1975.
Survivors include three daughters, Melva Potter of Casper, Wyo., Sharon Macy of St. Charles, Mo., and Mary Girardi of Aztec, N.M.; two sisters, Mildred Cobb of Sulpher, Okla., and Mary Lou Sharpe of Yuma, Ariz.; a brother, Ernie Vernon of St. Matthews, S.C.; six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Memorial donations may be made to Rocky Mountain ReEntry, Brain Injury Services, 2441 Peck Ave., Riverton, WY 82501, as Mrs. Pinkstaff’s first grandson suffered a traumatic brain injury in 1985.
Louis Charles Cullen
A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at the First Baptist Church of Farmington, Fellowship Hall, 121 N. Auburn, Farmington, N.M., for Louis Charles Cullen, who died Monday, Jan. 3, 2000, at the Lifecare Alzheimer’s unit in Farmington. He was 77.
The Rev. Ed Meyers will officiate.
Mr. Cullen was born Sept. 8, 1922, in Conway, Pa. He and his wife, Joan, were married in 1945 in Mountain Home, Idaho, where he was stationed with the U.S. Army-Air Force. After the war, they lived in Albuquerque, N.M., where Mr. Cullen was an all-conference fullback for the University of New Mexico football team, as well as an accomplished track athlete.
The Cullens moved to Farmington in 1948, where Mr. Cullen coached football at the high school, leading the team to a state title in 1952. He and his family moved to Durango in 1963, where he was the head football coach at Fort Lewis College until 1970. He continued as an assistant coach until 1983, after having been inducted into the FLC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1981.
Mr. Cullen was also inducted into the Farmington High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994, along with his 1952 football squad.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Joan.
Survivors include his daughter, LuAnn Wood; three grandchildren, Jake, Noah and Calah Wood; and his brother, Joe Cullen.
Frances M. Graham
Frances M. Graham died Monday, Dec. 27, 1999, after a long battle with cancer. She was 79.
Mrs. Graham was born Aug. 30, 1920, in Kansas. She moved to Albuquerque, N.M., to become one of the pioneers with Tandy Leather and then Radio Shack. In the early 1970s, she opened more than 150 Radio Shack stores in south Florida.
After retiring as an executive of Radio Shack in 1980, Mrs. Graham moved to Durango to be close to her son.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Gene Graham.
Survivors include two daughters, Kay Hill of Albuquerque, and Roxanne Graham of Durango; her son, Daniel (Gary) Graham of Durango; three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Graham requested no services, and donations to hospice in lieu of flowers.
Condolences may be sent to P.O. Box 2196, Durango, CO 81301.
Margarita Fierro Hinojos
Funeral services and burial will be in Matachic, Chihuahua, Mexico, for Margarita Fierro Hinojos, a Durango homemaker who died Wednesday, Dec. 29, 1999, in Durango. She was 44.
The cause of death has not been determined.
Mrs. Hinojos was born March 6, 1955, in Matachic, Chihuahua, Mexico.
She was a homemaker and a resident of Durango.
Survivors include her husband, Placiso Venzor of Durango; a son, Dulces Nombres Perez of Durango; nine brothers and sisters, Leticia Fierro, Lucema Fierro, Abel Fierro, Lalo Fierro and Raul Fierro, all of Durango, and Salvador Fierro, Jose Luis Fierro, Manuel Fierro and Ofelia Fierro, all of Mexico.
Ralph A. Bessesen
A graveside service will be at 3 p.m. Thursday at Greenmount Cemetery
for retired Lt. Col. Ralph A. Bessesen, who died Thursday, Dec. 30, 1999. He was 81. The cause of death was emphysema.
The American Legion will officiate at services.
Mr. Bessesen was born Jan. 21, 1918, in Toppenish, Wash. He was a heavy equipment mechanic in the Army during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. He was also affiliated with the Air Force.
Mr. Bessesen moved to Reno, Nev., after serving in the armed forces. While in Reno, he was a carpenter who built houses and was also a mechanic. He was a member of the Reno Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Reno American Legion and the First Baptist Church of Reno. He moved to Durango in 1991.
Mr. Bessesen enjoyed hunting, fishing and bowling.
Survivors include special friend, Bernice Hemphill of Durango; two brothers; one step-daughter and one step-granddaughter.
Memorial donations may be made to the American Lung Association of Colorado, Western Region, P.O. Box 3154, Grand Junction, CO 81502.
Minter Marion Griggs
A graveside service will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Ignacio Cemetery
for Minter Marion Griggs, who died Saturday, Jan. 1, 2000, at the Valley Inn in Mancos. He was 91.
The cause of death was not available.
The Rev. Robert C. Griggs will officiate at services.
Mr. Griggs was born March 30, 1908, near Fort Worth, Texas. He married Leola Opla Knowles Dec. 30, 1928, in Abernathy, Texas. She preceded him in death June 8, 1996.
Mr. Griggs was a pastor for 55 years in Texas and Oklahoma. He moved to the area in 1988 to be near his son.
Survivors include his son, Robert C. Griggs of Ignacio; four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Stanley Joe Haynes
A celebration of life will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at the First Baptist Church of Pagosa Springs for Stanley Joe Haynes, who died Sunday, Jan. 2, 2000, in Pagosa Springs after a nine-year battle with bone marrow cancer. He was 60.
The Rev. Dan Sanders will officiate at services.
Mr. Haynes was born March 1, 1939, in Clovis, N.M. He graduated from Clovis High School and attended New Mexico A&M.
He married Beverly Kay Stone Aug. 9, 1959, in Clovis, N.M. They moved to Albuquerque, where Mr. Haynes served a machinist apprenticeship with the Santa Fe Railroad from 1959 to 1963. He worked as a machinist for the railroad in Albuquerque and then in Clovis from 1963 to 1966 before graduating from Eastern New Mexico University in 1967 with a business degree. He was in management with the can division of Carnation Company in Oconomowoc, Wis., from 1967 to 1970. He moved to Dallas in 1970 and worked as manufacturing manager for Liquid Paper Corporation.
In 1979, he and his family moved to Granby, Colo., where they owned and operated Country True Value Hardware. They moved to Pagosa Springs in 1984, where they have owned and managed Ponderosa Home Center.
Mr. Haynes was an active member of the First Baptist Church of Pagosa Springs, where he served as deacon and adult Sunday School teacher. He also served as president of the Power House Christian Youth Ministry board of directors in Pagosa Springs.
Survivors include his wife, Beverly Kay Stone Haynes; a son, Mike Haynes; a daughter, Melanie Stephens; five grandchildren, Jennifer, Jacob, Mary Kate, Becca and Eli, all of Pagosa Springs; a sister, Gloria Burch of High Rolls, N.M.; a brother, Kenneth Haynes of Parker, Colo.; and his stepmother, Beatrice Haynes.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to First Baptist Church Building Fund, Box 960, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147; Power House Youth Ministry, 300-A Squaw Valley Place, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147; or Hospice of Mercy Pagosa Springs, 95 S. Pagosa Blvd., Unit B, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147.
Thomas Charles McGuire
Private services are planned for Thomas Charles McGuire, a Durango resident who died Saturday, Jan. 1, 2000, at home with his family.
He was 83.
The cause of death was unavailable.
Mr. McGuire was born March 25, 1916, in Cleveland, Ohio. He married Alice Warther on Dec. 5, 1941.
He served 30 years with the U.S. Air Force in worldwide assignments before retiring as a colonel. He then moved with his wife to Southern California where he worked in the aerospace industry.
About three years ago they moved to Durango to live with his son, Mike, and Mike’s wife, Carol.
He is survived by his wife, Alice McGuire of Durango; son, Mike McGuire of Durango; two daughters, Ann Barbata of Ferndale, Calif., and Kate McGuire of San Francisco; and four grandchildren.
The family requests that no flowers be sent and that donations be made to the American Cancer Society.
