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John Henry Cain
John Henry Cain, who was honored this February as the outstanding faculty member of the year at Pueblo Community College, died Wednesday, June 23, 2004, at home in Durango. He died of cancer at the age of 64 said his wife, Mary Jane Cain.
Mr. Cain was born Sept. 30, 1939, in Dubuque, Iowa, the son of Katharine (McElmeel) Cain and John S. Cain.
He graduated from Brophy Prep in Phoenix, Ariz. He completed a bachelor's degree in philosophy at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., and a master's degree in education at the University of Nebraska, Omaha.
He married Mary Jane (Brown) Cain on Sept. 30, 1978.
Mr. Cain owned and operated La Plata Mountain Pre-School in Durango from 1978 until 1988. He changed direction to work as a Realtor at Triple S Realty then taught philosophy and religion at Pueblo Community College from 1999 to 2004.
His family remembers him for his love of education - from preschool through college - his sense of humor and his intelligence.
He was a member of St. Columba Catholic Church.
Mr. Cain is survived by his wife of Durango; his children: Elizabeth Cain and Patrick Cain, both of Durango; his sister, Stephanie Foster of Phoenix; and his nieces and nephews.
A rosary will be said at 9:30 a.m. Monday, then Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m., both at St. Columba. Burial will be at Greenmount Cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Pueblo Community College Foundation, Southwest Center, 701 Camino del Rio or to St. Columba.
Valarie Marie Poore
Valarie Marie Poore, of Forest Lakes, who had worked at Mercy Medical Center and Fort Lewis College, died Tuesday, June 22, 2004, at the age of 48.
She was driving home from work early Tuesday when she fell asleep at the wheel on Florida Road. The car overturned and Mrs. Poore was thrown out, said her husband, Rodger Poore.
Mrs. Poore was born Nov. 7, 1955, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, the daughter of Marjorie and Kenneth Warner. Mrs. Poore was raised in Durango and attended Durango schools.
She married Mr. Poore on Nov. 25, 1991, in Durango.
Mrs. Poore worked as a dietician at Mercy Medical Center and more recently as a night custodian at Fort Lewis College for the past 10 years.
She enjoyed the outdoors, flowers, cooking, lunches with her mother and her family, her dogs and their long walks. She was a good listener and counseled many people through their relationships. Mrs. Poore's dream was to get a home on Vallecito Lake.
"Moving to Forest Lakes was a step toward that," Mr. Poore said. "We wanted to be able to grow old there."
Her family remembers her reverent relationship with God and her church, the Church of Christ in Bayfield.
"She just enjoyed life. She was always pleasant in her interactions with anyone, and she was the type of person to give of herself freely. She touched many lives," Mr. Poore said.
Mrs. Poore is survived by her husband of Bayfield; her son, Michael Havely of Bayfield; her grandson, Logan Havely of Denver; her mother, Marjorie Warner of Durango; her sister, Tavan Rinard of Greeley; her niece and nephew, Katie and Joshua Rinard of Greeley; several aunts, an uncle and many cousins.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. today at the Bayfield Church of Christ.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Bayfield Church of Christ, 23 Mesa Ave., Bayfield, CO 81122.
Earl J. Christy, Jr.
Earl J. Christy, Jr., 51, who owned a Durango hang-gliding business and taught the sport at an expert level until an accident left him paralyzed, died Sunday, June 20, 2004, at Mercy Medical Center. He died of natural causes said his sister, Cheryl Christy.
Mr. Christy was born Nov. 11, 1952, in Detroit, Mich., the son of Dolores (Bagozzi) Christy and Earl Christy.
He grew up in Dearborn, Mich., and moved to the Durango area in 1970.
Mr. Christy earned his bachelor's degree in business administration in 1973 from Fort Lewis College. In Durango, he worked with his father as an insurance agent and grew and sold hydroponic tomatoes to local merchants.
He also played softball for the American Legion and helped design Web pages.
Mr. Christy was owner of Four Corners Ultralight Aircraft, and he also was an instructor.
Although pioneering the sport in Durango, Mr. Christy had an accident in 1977 that left him paralyzed. He continued to play an active role in his hang-gliding business.
Mr. Christy's sister Colleen Lundberg remembers asking him how he handled his disability, and his answer was: "I try to turn the negatives into positives."
Mr. Christy is survived by his mother, Dolores Christy of Durango; his sisters: Cheryl Christy of Grosse Ile, Mich., Colleen Lundberg of Durango and Cathleen Ruff of Broomfield; his brother, Robert Christy of Elizabeth, and his nieces and nephews: Brandon and Alicia Lundberg and Rachael and Aidian Ruff.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at St. Columba Catholic Church. The Rev. James Koenigsfeld will officiate. Cremation will take place at Hood Mortuary Crematory.
Rosemarie N. Wolf
Rosemarie N. Wolf, of Durango, died Wednesday, June 16, 2004, of natural causes at Mercy Medical Center. She was 81 years old.
Mrs. Wolf was a homemaker and mother of six children.
"She was totally into her family and her home," said her daughter, Kathleen F. Wolf, of Las Cruces, N.M.
Mrs. Wolf was a member of the Sacred Heart Catholic parish. She lived most of her life in Fargo, N.D., and moved to Durango about four years ago to be near her daughter, Janet Wolf.
Born in Wahpeton, N.D., about 45 miles south of Fargo, Mrs. Wolf met her husband, David A. Wolf, in Washington, D.C., when she worked there during World War II.
Mr. Wolf died in 1994, after the couple had been married for 52 years. He was 76 years old.
Kathleen Wolf said her mother was always active in the community, and that her parents always served meals to poor and homeless people during holidays at the Nativity Church in Fargo.
"I think the thing that stood out for all of us was what a loving and compassionate person she was, and how she did everything to the nth degree," said Kathleen Wolf. "Everything she did she tried to do her best at it."
Mrs. Wolf is survived by her children: Michael Wolf of Carlsbad, Calif., Kathleen F. Wolf of Las Cruces, N.M., Thomas Wolf of Spokane, Wash., Mary E. Wolf of Las Cruces, N.M., Janet Wolf-Cartier of Durango, and Timothy Wolf of Spokane, Wash.
She is also survived by her brother, Bob Nolan, of Phoenix, Ariz.; and her grandchildren: Adam M. Wolf of Jersey City, N.J.; Devon Wolf of Las Cruces, N.M.; Ursula, Conrad and Gavin Wolf of Spokane, Wash.; Ian Wolf of Spokane, Wash.; and Grace Wolf-Cartier of Durango; and her friend Dr. Jack Cartier of Durango.
A funeral service will be held in Fargo. No date has been set.
The family prefers that instead of flowers, memorials are sent to the Alzheimer's Association, 701 Camino del Rio, No. 115A, Durango, CO 81301.
Helen L. Burkett
A celebration of the life of Helen L. Burkett, the founder of Helen's Store, will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, July 3, at Mrs. Burkett's landmark store, 13980 County Road 240.
Refreshments will be served and a tent will offer shade. Guests are asked to bring stories and memories.
Mrs. Burkett died Friday, Dec. 12, 2003, in Aztec. She was 98.
Gene Neel
A memorial service for Gene Neel, who was a soccer coach in this area from 1990 to 2000, will be held at the soccer field at Joe Rowell Park in Dolores at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 26.
The service will mark the inauguration of the renamed field, the Gene Neel Memorial Soccer Field.
Two benches and a memorial structure are being constructed on the north side of the field in Neel's memory. Donations to pay for the work may be made to the Neel Memorial Fund at the Dolores State Bank. Pastor Vickie Smith of the United Methodist Church will officiate.
Gene Neel lived in the area for many years. He had moved to Boston before his death on June 16, 2003, from heart failure.
Vicente Salomon Archuleta
Vicente Salomon Archuleta, 93, who had owned businesses and properties in Durango since the 1950s, died Monday, June 14, 2004, in Durango. He died of old age, said his son, Reuben Archuleta.
Mr. Archuleta was born April 5, 1911, in Blanco, N.M., the son of Josephina and Telesforo Archuleta. His father was a county commissioner for San Juan County. He was educated in Blanco, through the eighth grade, and then went to school at the Spanish American Normal School in El Rito, N.M.
Mr. Archuleta left home at a young age to work in mines in Silverton and California to support his family. He moved to Hawaii, where he worked for Bechtel Construction Company Ammunition Storage Dumps.
On December 7, 1941, Mr. Archuleta, along with two of his brothers, was in Pearl Harbor when it was attacked. The following day each of them joined a branch of the military; Mr. Archuleta joined the U.S. Navy Seabees, with whom he built pontoon bridges and roads to prepare for invasions.
After the war, Mr. Archuleta returned to Bechtel, working in Korea and Saudi Arabia. In 1951, he bought a half interest of the Blanco Bar in Blanco, N.M., where he met his wife, DeLourdes Jacquez. They married in 1956 in California.
Mr. Archuleta was about to travel to Libya for Bechtel at the time of his marriage, but his wife persuaded him not to go. Instead, they bought a grocery store.
The couple moved to Durango in 1956 where they bought the 3 Jay Bar by the General Palmer Hotel. Three years later they sold that bar and purchased the Sportsman's Lounge, which Mr. Archuleta ran from 1963-83. He retired but later bought Grandview Properties in 1990, which he still owned at the time of his death.
Reuben Archuleta remembers that his father used to run a tab for his customers who wanted a drink or needed some money. When he retired, he forgave everyone's debts.
"When his mother died, she asked my father to take care of her girls," Reuben Archuleta said. "He continued to do that from the time he left home at 17. And he did the same with his children. We got anything we asked for."
Mr. Archuleta was preceded in death by his wife DeLourdes Archuleta and his stepson, Jerome Dix.
He is survived by his sons: Tony Archuleta of Durango, and Reuben Archuleta of San Francisco; his brothers: Valentine Archuleta and Milton Archuleta, both of Blanco, and Donald Archuleta of Rancho Cordova, Calif.; his sisters; Flora Lujan of Pacheco, Calif., Ester Gonzalez of Henderson, Nev., Viola Springall of Concord, Calif. and Henrietta Hayes of Shingle Springs, Calif.
Visitation will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Hood Mortuary and a rosary will be said at 6 p.m. Sunday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. The Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Monday at Sacred Heart. Burial will take place at Greenmount Cemetery in Durango, followed by a reception at the Veterans of Foreign Wars, 1550 Main Ave.
Roger D. Erikson
Roger D. Erikson, longtime resident of the Bayfield and Durango area, died on Monday, May 31, 2004, after suffering from lung problems for years. He was 54.
"Roger was a man of few words, with a big heart and was a good friend to many," his sister, Cheryl Renville said. "He enjoyed reading everything as a child, a pastime he carried into adulthood."
Mr. Erikson was born to Donald and Sylvia Erikson on Jan. 27, 1950, in Williston, N.D.. He lived on the family farm and attended rural McKenzie County School until moving to Waterford City, N.D., in 1958. He graduated from Waterford City High School in 1968.
An avid outdoorsman, Mr. Erikson enjoyed hunting, fishing and sports. He especially enjoyed football, which he played in high school and at Dickinson State University in North Dakota until a knee injury forced him to quit.
After college he worked in Waterford City for a number of years, and later worked in the oil fields in North Dakota, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming until ill health brought on retirement.
Mr. Erikson is survived by his father, Donald Erikson; six daughters, Megan Fuller of Newport News, Va., Heide Fuller of Charlotte, N.C., Nichole Erikson of Hernman, Utah, Cody Erikson of Duchesne, Utah, Savanah Erikson and Joelle Erikson, both of Troutdale, Ore.; two brothers, Gary Erikson of Bowbelles, N.D., and Blaine Erikson of Bismarck, N.D.; four sisters, Cheryl Renville of Waterford City, N.D., Donna Moen of Arnegard, N.D., Lynette Norby of Charlson, N.D. and Laurel Schillie of Vernal, Utah; and many nieces and nephews.
A gathering of family and friends will be held from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, June 27, at the Carl E. Renville home at 101 Fifth Street N.E., Waterford City, N.D. A burial will take place at 6 p.m. Monday, June 28, at the Schaffer Cemetery east of Waterford City, N.D.
The Rev. Robert W. Musil
Former associate pastor for the First Methodist Church in Durango, the Rev. Robert W. Musil died in Denver on Saturday, June 12, 2004, from a fall. He was 74.
Mr. Musil graduated from Sterling High in Sterling and received a bachelor of science from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He later earned a master of divinity from the University of Denver's Iliff School of Theology. Mr. Musil went on to attend Harvard University and earned his doctorate from Boston University.
He served as a pastor in United Methodist churches across Colorado in Jamestown, Johnstown, Windsor, Salida, Durango and Denver. Mr. Musil also served as a campus minister at the University of Denver and Fort Lewis College. He also was a pastor in churches in New Hampshire, Utah and Wyoming.
Active in civil rights, the Rev. Musil served on the Civil Rights Commission in 1971, met with Martin Luther King Jr., and worked on organizing the Denver Free University in the 1960s.
He also organized the Capitol Hill Congress, now known as the Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods.
Mr. Musil is survived by his wife Dorothy Musil of Denver; three daughters, Sarah Musil Burris of Durango, Karen Christensen of Aurora and Rebecca Thompson of Salida; and a sister, Grace Swanson, also of Durango.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 26, at University Park United Methodist Church in Denver. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Peace with Justice Committee of the Rocky Mountain Conference, 2200 S. University Blvd., Denver, CO., 80210 or Iliff School of Theology, 2201 S. University Blvd. Denver, CO 80210.
