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Olive Edna Blain Dillon
Olive Edna Blain Dillon, a former Ignacio resident, died April 14, 2003, at the Valley Inn Nursing Home in Mancos. She was 92.
Mrs. Dillon was born Feb. 27, 1912, in Esbon, Kan., to Milton and Irene Blain. She married Lester Vernon April 1, 1931, in Burr Oak, Kan. They moved to Colorado in 1936.
She enjoyed gardening, needlework, reading and traveling, visiting 47 states. Many of her trips were made with senior citizens.
She had been active in the Happy Homemakers Extension Club, the Friendship Circle of the Presbyterian Church and the Council on Aging.
She was preceded in death by her husband and a son, Clinton Vernon Dillon.
She is survived by two daughters and sons-in-law, Dorothy and Ruben Rinker of Lewisberg, Kentucky, and Donna and Chuck Egger of Ignacio; daughter-in-law Teresa Dillon Lundgren, of Erie, Colo., the widow of Clinton Dillon; 23 grandchildren; 42 great-grandchildren and 24 great-great grandchildren.
A memorial will be held Saturday April 19 at 10 a.m. at the Ignacio Community Church at 405 Browning Ave. with Deacon Mike Darmour officiating. Cremation will occur at Cortez Four Corners Crematory. Inurnment will take place in Page, Ariz., at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Valley Inn Nursing Home, 211 Third Ave., Mancos, CO 81328.
Lou Da
Our beloved mother wife, sister, aunt, and niece went to be with our Lord on Palm Sunday morning, April 13, 2003, after a sudden illness.
Lou was born in Pecos, N.M. and was a resident of Vallecito.
She was preceded in death by her parents Juan G. and Antonia Armijo. She is survived by her husband, Ralph C. Bowers, and her children Amber, Jarrod and Royale Da. She is also survived by brother Ralph Armijo and wife Balbie; sisters Connie Armijo, Conse and husband Manuel M. DeAguero, Eloise and husband Patricio M. Serna, and Agnes and husband Walter Ortega.
She is also survived by two special aunts, Magdalena and husband Evaristo Armijo, and Aurelia Sandoval. She is also survived by nieces Amy, Sharon, Elena and Anna; nephews Mike, Alvin, Erome, Patrick, John, and many cousins and friends.
Lou was a loving and dedicated mother, and she touched every life she encountered. She was a beautiful person who chose not to judge others and allowed people to be themselves.
A marvelous cook who opened her heart and home to many, Lou will be greatly missed and never forgotten.
A rosary was held at St. Anthony's Church in Pecos on Tuesday, April 15.
A Mass celebrating her life was held on Wednesday, April 16 followed by burial services at the Pecos Cemetery.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 19, 2003, at the Vallecito Lake Church.
In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to St. Anthony's Church in Pecos or to the Vallecito Service League EMT/Fireman Fund in Vallecito.
Michael P. Blanchard
Michael P. Blanchard died Tuesday, July 8, 2003 in his Bayfield home. He was 60.
A graveside interment will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 29, 2003 at Bayfield Cemetery.
Mr. Blanchard was born March 11, 1943 in Three River, Mich., the son of William and Vera Blanchard. He married Johnna L. Ryan January 5, 1989 in Phoenix.
He served in the Air Force during the Vietnam Era. He was interested in classic and hot rod car restorations. He was a member and officer in the Over the Hill Gang car club. He had a lifelong love of hunting and fishing and was living his dream in the Colorado mountains.
Mr. Blanchard is survived by his wife, Johnna; son and daughter-in law Bill and Ann Blanchard of Chandler, Ariz.; daughter Michelle Blanchard of Scottsdale, Ariz.; sister Sheri Stewart of Portage, Mich.; one brother Steve Blanchard of Vicksburg, Mich.; and his three Labradors Chuck, Kellie and Amber.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Mercy, 375 E. Park Ave., Durango CO, 81301 or the American Cancer Society.
Lorence (Larry) L. Smith
Lorence (Larry) L. Smith, 73, died Tuesday, March 18, 2008, at Mercy Regional Medical Center of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
A memorial will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 29, 2008, at the Los Pinos Fire Protection Building at 275 Browning Ave in Ignacio.
A potluck dinner will be held afterward.
Larry was born Oct. 24, 1934, in Collbran, Colorado, the son of Ethel Barker Smith and Kenneth Smith. After buying a ranch at the foot of the HD Mountains, the Smiths moved to Bayfield from northern Colorado. Larry attended school in both Bayfield and Ignacio.
After high school, Larry joined the United States Navy where he served on the LST 1159 in Korea.
Upon returning home, Larry worked on the family ranch with his father, drove truck, and worked in the gas and oil fields before following his love of leather crafts by attending Denver’s Emily Griffith Opportunity School to learn shoe repair. After losing a shoe repair shop in Delta, Colo. to fire, Larry attended and graduated from Oklahoma State Tech’s boot and saddle making school.
Larry returned to La Plata County, where he and his father, Ken Smith, opened Pine River Boots (later Custom Boots by Larry Smith) in Ignacio. He was a master craftsman who practiced his craft for over 50 years making thousands of made-to-measure cowboy boots and served a worldwide clientele. He was one of fewer than 100 boot makers in North America who made cowboy boots by hand; a three-month process.
In 2000, Larry turned his business into a boot making school. Over the years, numerous articles were written about him; he was honored by several awards by his peers; and he displayed his craft by the invitation of the Smithsonian Institute at the United States Bicentennial Arts and Crafts Fair in Washington, D.C. in 1976.
Larry’s hobbies included leather stamping, silversmithing, martial arts, woodworking, and gardening. He enjoyed the outdoors, fishing, camping, and had a soft spot for animals of all kinds. Larry built a 30’ by 50’ addition to the family home by laying adobe bricks that he made himself.
Larry was passionate and a perfectionist. He often said that over the years he had made only seven pairs of perfect boots, then he would say unfortunately all the boots were for the left foot.
Larry married Pauline Kennedy on June 20, 1958, in Bayfield and they had four children. They divorced in 1977. Larry married Cheryl Bruyette on June 28, 1980, in Grand Junction, and they raised her four children from a previous marriage.
Larry was preceded in death by his father, Ken, in 1984.
Larry is survived by his wife Cheryl; his mother, Ethel B. Smith, of Ignacio; his daughter, Lois Moss of Albuquerque; sons Kenneth Smith of Ignacio, Bill Smith of Denver, and Lee Smith of Ignacio; stepdaughters Dawn Montoya of Fort Collins, Michelle Murray of Doylestown Penn., Kristina Rodilosso of Henderson Nev. and William Bruyette of Davis, Calif. He also is survived by six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, 11 step-grandchildren and one step- great-grandchild.
Memorial Contributions can be made to Annie’s Orphans 1630 CR 214 Durango,Colorado 81301.
