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John H. Miller
John H. Miller, one of the last old-time ranchers, passed away at the Vista Grande Rehab Center in Cortez on Oct. 19, 2001.
He was 85.
He was born in Arriola on Feb. 16, 1916, to John T. and Josephine (Smith) Miller. John's grandfather, I.O. Miller, grandmother Ella, and their three children settled north of Cortez in the early 1900s, giving the community of Arriola its name.
I.O. Miller was appointed the first superintendent of schools in Montezuma County and John's grandmother was the first teacher at Arriola.
His father, John T., donated the land for the Arriola Cemetery.
John's mother passed away when he was 3, leaving five small children.
The family lived for a while in the Arriola community, later moving to Cortez.
John graduated from MCHS in 1935. He soon began ranching with his father and his brother, Robert E. Miller.
On March 15, 1944, John married Audrey May Oliver.
They shared 48 years of marriage before Audrey's death in May 1992.
John ranched with his father and brother until 1962, when his father died.
John and Robert were partners until the late 1970s, when Robert sold his portion to John.
John continued running the ranch until he was 79. In 1994, he sold the bulk of it to the Wesley Wallace family.
The "Miller Cow Outfit" included deeded and BLM land in lower McElmo Canyon, Ferris Canyon and Salter Y, along with deeded property in the Dolores Canyon below McPhee Dam. At the height of the operation, John ran around 600 head of mother cows.
John leaves his daughters and their families: Myrna (Harold) Nix of Dunlap, Ill.; Jody (Don) Schwindt of Cortez, Karel (Wayne) Brown of Dolores; grandchildren Kristi and John Nix, Dylan and Caley Schwindt, Kare'lia and Krystal Brown; sister, Mary (Ray) Patten and a host of other relatives and friends.
Two sisters, Marjorie French and Helen Steerman, and a brother, Robert Miller, preceded John in death.
Georgette Roberta (Terry) Davis
Graveside services for former Cortez resident Georgette Roberta (Terry) Davis will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 14, at the Cortez Cemetery.
Georgette passed away Dec. 9, 2001, in Pueblo, Colo. She was 89.
She was born Jan. 29, 1912, in Seargents Bluff, Iowa, and had been a longtime Cortez resident. She and her husband, Von, owned and operated the V&G Variety Store in Cortez for over 30 years. She had been a Pueblo resident since 1984.
Surviving her are her daughters, Donna Alber and Sharon (Joseph) Prutch, both of Pueblo, Colo.; grandchildren, Morgan Alber of Gardner, Colo. and Catherine (Richard Martin) Alber of Denver; great-grandchildren, Jacob ElBekhty, Leigh Martin and Willow Alber Martin. Georgette's husband, Von Davis, preceded her in death in 1982.
Services are under the direction of the Ertel Funeral Home.
Jasmyne Cayaditto
Services for Jasmyne Cayaditto, 1, of Cortez, will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1700 E. Empire). Bishop Black will officiate.
Jasmyne was the infant daughter of La Tanyia Begay and Rufus Cayaditto. She was born on Dec. 5, 2000. She passed away on Dec. 8, 2001, as the result of an automobile accident.
Jasmyne Cayaditto is survived by her paternal grandparents, Richard Martinez and Marilyn and Anderson Frank of Farmington, N.M.; her maternal grandparents, Dennis and Harriet Yazzie of Cortez, and other relatives.
She was preceded in death by her parents.
Cortez Four Corners Funeral Chapel, Hale and Gerken, are serving the family.
Alice Belt
Funeral services for Alice Jane Belt will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 17, at the Cortez First United Methodist Church. Interment will follow at the Cortez Cemetery. Visitation is scheduled for Sunday at the Ertel Memorial Chapel, from 2 to 4 p.m.
Alice was born on April 1, 1928, in Mabton, Wash., to Harry and Nellie Belle (Nance) Brown. She passed away on Dec. 12, 2001, at her home in Cortez. She was 73.
On May 3, 1946, in Mabton, Alice married her sweetheart, Richard Vance Belt. She was a dedicated homemaker, and a member of the American Legion.
Surviving Alice are her children, Danny (Diane Moody) Belt of Cortez, and Sandy (Dwight) Wardrip of Cortez. Her grandchildren, Chris Belt, Kelly Belt, Marci Clark and Ginger Davies, and seven great-grandchildren also survive her. Alice also leaves her two sisters, Betty Sears, and Josie Stewart, both of Washington. Preceding her in death are her parents, and her husband, Richard Belt.
Services are under the direction of the Ertel Funeral Home.
Elberta Bishop
Elberta J. Bishop of Cortez passed away on Dec. 9. 2001, at her home. She was 80. Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m., Friday, Dec. 14, at Trinity Lutheran Church.
Mrs. Bishop was born to Elbert J. and Anna Muriel (Dickens) Quail on June 30, 1921, in St. Louis, Ill. She attended school in Gallup, N.M.
On May 4, 1940, she married Alvin J. Bishop. They were blessed with three children. Mrs. Bishop was a cook and a homemaker. She loved children and animals, and enjoyed traveling, singing and music. She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church.
Elberta Bishop is survived by her sons, Leslie (Jenny) Bishop of Kansas City, Mo. and Gary (June) Bishop of Dolores; daughter, Jeanette Bishop of Baltimore, Md.; grandchildren, Diana (Neil) Garland and Chris (Marshall) Pelot; sister Yvonne Mills; dearest friends, Floyd and Joyce Johnson and Randall and Adeline Liska and children.
She was preceded in death by her husband.
Memorial contributions may be made to Noah’s Ark, 14929 County Road G, Cortez, CO 81321, or Hospice of Montezuma, Inc., 1108 N. Mildred, Cortez, CO 81321.
Cortez Four Corners Funeral Chapel, Hale and Gerken are serving the family.
Martha Ann List
A remembrance service for Martha Ann List, a longtime Cortez resident, will be held at 1 p.m., Friday, Dec. 14, at the Ertel Memorial Chapel.
Martha passed away at the Vista Mesa Retirement Center on Dec. 10, 2001, at the age of 75. She was born to Clarence Thornton and Lillian (Hamilton) Foster on Jan. 9, 1926, in Columbus, Miss.
Martha wed James Walton List in Santa Fe, N.M., in 1950. The couple moved their family to Cortez in 1966. Martha worked as a medical lab technologist for Southwest Memorial Hospital for a number of years. In her free time, Martha enjoyed quilting, reading and shopping.
Surviving Martha are her husband of 51 years, James, of Cortez; her daughter, Marian (Tom) Lane of Aurora, Colo.; sons, Jay (Claudia) List of Colorado Springs, Colo., and David (Kathy Campbell) List of Lakewood, Colo.; two grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and four step-grandchildren. A sister, Lillian Meacham of Vicksburg, Miss., also survives her.
Memorial contributions can be mad at the Vectra Bank to benefit Hospice of Montezuma.
LaTanyia Begay
Funeral services for La Tanyia Begay of Cortez, will be at 10 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1700 E. Empire).
Bishop Black will officiate.
Miss Begay was born to Alvin and Harriet Kaye (Francis) Begay on Jan. 19, 1982.
She passed away on Dec. 8, 2001, as the result of an automobile accident. She was 19.
She graduated from Aztec High School in May 2000.
At the time of her death, she was attending Pueblo Community College.
She was recently employed as a food service worker with the Cortez Wal-Mart.
Miss Begay enjoyed participating in pow-wows as a dancer of Northern Tradition.
She also enjoyed playing basketball in high school.
She is survived by her mother and stepfather, Harriet and Dennis Yazzie; father, Alvin Begay; brother, Dennison Yazzie and sister, Shaundiin Yazzie, among other relatives and friends.
Cortez Four Corners Funeral Chapel, Hale and Gerken are serving the family.
Rufus Cayaditto
Services for Rufus Cayaditto of Cortez, will be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1700 E. Empire). Bishop Black will officiate.
Mr. Cayaditto was born to Richard Martinez and Marilyn Cayaditto on June 19, 1981, in Cuba, N.M. He passed away on Dec. 8, 2001, as the result of an automobile accident. He was 20.
He attended high school, and was an employee with Western Excelsior Corp. in Mancos. He was a member of the Native American Church.
Mr. Cayaditto enjoyed arts and crafts, basketball, and cruising around in "low riders."
He is survived by his father, Richard Martinez; mother and stepfather, Marilyn and Anderson H. Frank; paternal grandparents, Willie and Grace Martinez; Herman and Marie Cayaditto; step-grandparents, Henry and Ester Frank; six brothers, six sisters, and other relatives and friends.
Cortez Four Corners Funeral Chapel, Hale and Gerken, are serving the family.
Hugh Poyer
Funeral services for Hugh Poyer of Aneth, Utah, will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Ertel Memorial Chapel. Interment will follow at the Cortez Cemetery. Military graveside services will be conducted by the Ute Mountain American Legion Post #75.
Hugh passed away on Dec. 8, 2001, at St. Mary's Hospital in Grand Junction, Colo. He was 56.
He was born Sept. 3, 1945, to Myron H. and Harriet (Jackson) Poyer in Aneth. He was a Bi'taani' Clan born for the Ashii'hi' Clan.
He is survived by his wife, Rosina, of Montezuma Creek, Utah; children, Refina and Cherina Poyer, and stepson, Arredondo N. Merritt, all of Montezuma Creek; Jeffrey (Sandra) Poyer, of Shiprock, N.M., Kimula Poyer and friend, Andrew of Kirtland, N.M., Norleen (Leonard) Poyer-Begay of Kirtland, Darlene Curley and husband of Fruitland, N.M., Huberta (Joe) Poyer, of Teec Nos Pos, Ariz., Miranda Poyer and friend, Leroy of Farmington, N.M., and numerous nieces, nephews and grandchildren.
He is also survived by his siblings, Everett (Geneva) Poye, of Aneth, Mary (Jerry) Johnson, of Cortez, Janet (Raymond) Blackgoat, of Shiprock; and stepsisters, Nellie (Wilson) Buck, of Cortez, and Lillie (Wilford) Yabeny, of Beclabito, N.M., and Marylou Yazzie of Los Angeles.
Elizabeth Loretta Sanders
Funeral services for Elizabeth Loretta Sanders will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Mancos First Baptist Church. Interment will follow at the Cedar Grove Cemetery. Visitation will be Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Ertel Memorial Chapel.
Elizabeth was born in Kremmling, Colo., on March 3, 1918, to Guy Archibald and Nevetta (Morris) Foster. She passed away on Dec. 7, 2001, at the Valley Inn Nursing Home in Mancos. She was 83.
Elizabeth married her sweetheart, Richard Jay Sanders, and later moved to the Cortez area in 1963.
She was a lifetime member of the Order of Eastern Star.
Surviving are her children, Bert E. Sanders of Mancos, Barbara Randolph of Cortez, Robert L. Sanders of Delta, Colo.; her special son-in-law, Allan Randolph and daughter-in-law, Mary Ann Sanders; her grandchildren, Jared Sanders, Tonya Hargis, Jason Valdez, and Natasha Randolph; nine great-grandchildren and her brother, Guy Archibald Foster Jr. of Roswell, N.M.
She was preceded in death by her parents and a son, Edward F. Sanders, in 1994.
Memorial contributions can be made with the Valley Inn Nursing Home.
Sharon Bott
Funeral services for former Mancos resident Sharon Bott will be held at 11 a.m., Monday, Dec. 10, at the Pennwood Chapel Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Las Vegas, Nev. Interment will follow at the Paradise Memorial Gardens.
Sharon was born to Richard "Dick" Hale and Betty Jean (Ertel) Dillon on July 8, 1940, in McPhee, Colo. She passed away in Las Vegas on Dec. 5, 2001, following a lengthy illness. She was 61.
Surviving Sharon are her mother, Betty Dillon, of Mancos; her husband, Gene Bott, of Las Vegas, Nev.; son, Gregg Bott of Las Vegas; daughter, Angel Nielson of Portland, Ore.; stepson, Glenn Bott of Las Vegas; stepdaughters, Suzanne Huffman of Long Beach, Calif., Paulette Day and Bonnie Alger both of Las Vegas; and 19 grandchildren.
Sharon also leaves behind her sisters and their families, Dixie Robbins, Roma Ewing, Diane Bartel, Pat Morgan, all of Mancos, and Michael Sue Kern of Tucson, Ariz.; her brother and his family, Scott Dillon of Mancos; and numerous uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews and cousins.
Sharon was preceded in death by her father.
Dorothy Luella Brown
Dorothy Luella Brown was born on Jan. 23, 1911, in Freemont, Ohio, to Stanley and Pansy (Tyron) March. She passed away on Dec. 5, 2001, at the Valley Inn Nursing Home in Mancos. She was 90.
On Feb. 19, 1930, Dorothy married her sweetheart, William R. Brown, in Littleton, Colo. They shared 71 years of marriage. She became a devoted wife and mother. Dorothy was a compassionate woman who shared a love for animals, and had a flair for knitting and crocheting. Her work was often sent to fairs where she won many prizes.
Dorothy's husband, Bill, and her children, James R. Brown and Lila Brown, all of Cortez, survive her, as do two sisters, Leliah Tryon of Cañon City, Colo., and Dessie White of Deckers, Colo.
She was preceded in death by her parents.
No services have been scheduled at this time. Arrangements are being handled through the Ertel Funeral Home.
