Search Archived Marriage Records
Larry Michael Romero (3/21/2007)
Larry Michael Romero, 18, died Saturday, March 17, 2007, in an automobile accident near Hesperus.
Mr. Romero was born Feb. 20, 1989, in Durango, the son of Christine Collette Hernandez Romero.
At the request of the family, there will be no visitation. A rosary will be said at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 22, 2007, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Durango. A Mass of Christian burial will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, March 23, 2007, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
The Rev. Antonio Flores with Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Durango and the Rev. Joseph C. Gallegos with St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Cortez will concelebrate.
Burial will follow at Pine River Cemetery in Bayfield.
Carly Ann Martin (3/21/2007)
Carly Ann Martin, 16, died Saturday, March 17, 2007, from injuries suffered in an automobile accident near Hesperus. Her brother Raymond Bill Millich Jr. also was killed in the crash.
Miss Martin was born Jan. 7, 1991, in Durango, the daughter of Cindi Oliver.
Carly attended Bayfield schools and enjoyed playing basketball and volleyball. She did well in school, enjoyed being with her friends and participated in rodeo. She liked to four-wheel on all-terrain vehicles and to fish.
She had worked as a baby sitter and also at the Patio restaurant.
She was a member of the Pine Valley Foursquare Church. She will be remembered as a great friend, for being independent and responsible. She was inseparable from her brother, Ray, and had recently celebrated her eight-month relationship with her boyfriend, Larry Romero.
She is survived by her mother and her companion, Cindi Oliver, and Cole Dendy both of Bayfield; her father and his companion, Raymond Millich Sr. and Lori Oliver, both of Cortez; grandmother Alberta Oliver of Lewis; great-grandmother Eunice Honaker of Lewis; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.
A funeral service will be at 2 p.m. Friday, March 23, 2007, at the Bayfield High School gymnasium. Pastor Scott Kujath with Pine Valley Foursquare Church will officiate. Burial will occur at Pine River Cemetery in Bayfield.
Memorial contributions have been established in her name at the Pine River Valley Bank or at the First National Bank in Bayfield.
Raymond Bill Millich Jr. (3/21/2007)
Raymond Bill Millich Jr., 13, died Saturday, March 17, 2007, from injuries suffered in an accident near Hesperus. His sister Carly Ann Martin also was killed in the crash.
Mr. Millich Jr. was born Aug. 25, 1993, in Durango, the son of Raymond Millich Sr. and Cindi Oliver.
He attended Bayfield schools and had played numerous sports including football, baseball and basketball. He loved going to school and being with his friends. He had missed only a day or two in the last three years, as he wanted to get good grades so that he could participate in sports.
He also enjoyed snowboarding, participating in rodeo, wrestling, riding motocross and hunting.
He was a member of the Pine Valley Church of the Foursquare Gospel. At the church he played basketball every Monday, and participated in the youth group on Wednesdays.
He enjoyed telling jokes, even if he didn't get them right, and he liked to play tricks on people. He was recently awarded Student of the Week by the Pine River Valley Bank.
He is survived by his father Raymond Millich Sr. and his companion Lori Oliver, both of Ignacio; his mother Cindi Oliver and her companion, Cole Dendy both of Bayfield; a half-sister, Kara Beth Martinez of Bloomfield, N.M; a stepbrother Cody Likes of Cortez; a stepsister Jessica Likes of Cortez; grandparents Pete and Della Millich of Allison; grandmother Alberta Oliver of Lewis; great-grandmother Eunice Honaker of Lewis; a nephew, and several aunts, uncles and cousins.
A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, March 23, 2007, at Bayfield High School gymnasium. Pastor Scott Kujath with Pine Valley Church of the Foursquare Gospel will officiate. Burial will occur at Pine River Cemetery in Bayfield.
Memorial contributions may be made to memorial funds that are set up in his name at the First National Bank of Bayfield.
William Stanley Wright (3/17/2007)
Durango resident William Stanley Wright, 82, died at Four Corners Health Care Center on Wednesday, March 14, 2007.
The cause of death was complications from Alzhei-mer's disease.
Mr. Wright and his wife, Susan, moved to Durango in 1994 after retiring.
He was active in the High Noon Rotary Club, tutored students in reading at Animas Valley Elementary School and worked on his golf swing at Dalton Ranch. His family said he enjoyed cooking, good food and his family.
Mr. Wright was born to Irwin Dodge and Marion Bezoier Wright in Minneapolis on Feb. 22, 1925. In 1930, the family moved to Kansas City, Mo., which was home for eight years.
In 1939, the Wrights moved to San Mateo, Calif., outside San Francisco. Mr. Wright attended San Mateo High School. His family said he was a gifted comic who was active in a local radio drama group.
On his 18th birthday, Mr. Wright enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Officer Training Program. Japan surrendered shortly before he was to be shipped out. As a second lieutenant, he was sent to the city of Nagasaki, and was one of the first Marines ashore. Mr. Wright helped supervise the first elections in post-war Japan.
In 1946, he returned to the Bay Area and enrolled in the University of California at Berkeley on the GI Bill of Rights and graduated with a degree in political science.
Mr. Wright had a passion for travel. After graduation in 1948, he set sail on the S.S. Grover Cleveland, where he worked in the purser department.
In 1949, he went to Washington, D.C., where he began his career with the Department of Defense. That's where he met his future wife, Susan Wiprud. On Nov. 16, 1951, the couple married at Grace Lutheran Church in Washington, D.C.
The next month Mr. Wright was posted to Japan for a three-year tour of duty.
His new bride joined him there four months later.
Two years later he was reassigned to Hong Kong and employed by Civil Air Transport. He worked as promotions manager and later as CAT's Hong Kong representative.
In 1959, the Wright family returned to the United States for good.
For the next three years, Mr. Wright co-owned International Travel Guides in Nashville, Tenn.
The Wrights then moved to Silver Spring, Md., where Mr. and Mrs. Wright owned Windward Travel Service for 30 years.
During all those years, the Wrights traveled extensively around the globe.
Mrs. Wright said they particularly enjoyed England, France, Czechoslovakia and Hungary.
They traveled to Norway four times to explore Mrs. Wright's roots.
Mr. Wright was a member of the local Rotary Club in Maryland and served as president for a time.
"He was a kind man who would drop anything to help someone," said his wife, Susan Wright.
"He was very funny and a loving father. He had lots of friends."
Mrs. Wright said her husband was well-read and a talented writer.
"All of this from beginning to end," Mr. Wright once wrote about his life, "I believe I can say it was a wonderful ride."
Mr. Wright is survived by his wife of 55 years, Susan Wright, of Durango; daughters Debbie Wright and Judi Jackson, both of Durango; son Chapin Wright, of Flemington, N.J.; sister Judi Foppiano of Jacksonville, Fla.; and five grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursday, March 29, 2007, at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 495 Florida Road.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the Alzheimer's Disease Association, Rocky Mountain Chapter, 789 Sherman St., Denver, CO 80203; or Hospice of Mercy, 375 E. Park Ave., Durango, CO 81301.
Edna Alwayne Peters (3/17/2007)
Lifelong Animas Valley resident Edna Alwayne Peters died at her home on Saturday, March 10, 2007. She was 89.
Mrs. Peters was born to Wayland and Annie Bruce in Durango on Aug. 13, 1917. Her Welsh-English grandparents had been in the area since the 1890s.
Her father worked for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad and had fruit orchards in the Animas Valley.
Mrs. Peters attended Park Elementary School and was the valedictorian of the Class of 1935 at Durango High School. She was also a worthy advisor of The International Order of the Rainbow for Girls.
She went on to study at the University of Denver. When she returned to Durango, Mrs. Peters worked at a local finance company.
In 1938, she married Joe B. "Kinky" Peters in Montrose. He was also a local boy and was known for his coaching and for managing the Coca-Cola bottling plant.
Her family said she enjoyed being in Durango and raising her family. She also enjoyed "being in tune with nature," going to the extent of having many animals and even raising "Pinko" lambs - lambs that had been rejected by their mothers.
One family story has Mrs. Peters chasing away bears with a shovel because she was "a feisty little woman."
She had been a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses since the 1950s.
"She had a love for God's creations and was a woman with strong convictions," said her daughter, Betty Loffer.
Mrs. Peters was preceded in death by her husband, Joe B. Peters.
She is survived by her son, Joseph Peters, of Durango; daughter, Betty Loffer, of Durango; five grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Cremation will occur. At Mrs. Peters' request, there will be no service.
Helena Joan Archuleta (3/15/2007)
Former Durango resident Helena Joan Archuleta died on Sunday, March 12, 2007, in Utah. She died five days before her 55th birthday. No cause of death was disclosed.
Mrs. Archuleta was born to Vincent Louis and Simona Mary Sanchez Archuleta in Omaha, Neb., on March 17, 1952. She was raised on the family farm outside of Durango by her grandparents Juan and Beatrice Gonzales Archuleta until she was 13.
"She was a loving grandmother and mother," her family wrote. "Helena was a fighter and a hard worker. She was very independent. It was either her way, or she hit the highway."
Mrs. Archuleta is survived by her sons Henry Ozawald and Adam Mendoza; daughters Diana Ozawald and Guadalupe Armenta; mother, Simona Archuleta; brother Gonzago Archuleta; sisters Theresa Archuleta, Christine Archuleta, Erica Archuleta and Loretta Archuleta; and nine grandchildren.
A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 17, 2007, at Greenmount Cemetery.
Kenneth Graham (3/15/2007)
Former Durango resident Kenneth Graham died at his home in Oracle, Ariz., on Monday, March 12, 2007. He was 66. The cause of death is undetermined.
Known as "Kenny," he was born in Pueblo to Carl and Helen Graham on June 26, 1940. He and his family moved to Durango in 1960.
Mr. Graham worked for Jackson-David Bottling Co. until 1986. He began sorting bottles and had become the general manager when the company was bought out. He moved to Flagstaff, Ariz., and began working for the Pepsi-Cola bottler there, where he was the manager of the vending-machine business.
He married Shirley Benson in Durango in 1961. The marriage later ended in divorce.
In 1990, Mr. Graham returned to Durango, He and some friends started the Everfresh Vending Co.
Mr. Graham moved to Oracle, Ariz., in 2005, to be near his three sisters.
Mr. Graham enjoyed playing and watching all sports and was an avid golfer, bowler and fisherman. In his younger years, he enjoyed playing tennis and was a softball umpire. Mr. Graham loved cats, especially his 19-year-old cat given to him by his daughter.
His family said he had many friends and a unique sense of humor," his son, Jamie Graham, said, "Such as 'How's that?' 'Is that your dog?' or the granddaddy of them all was, 'King's X.' You never lied on 'King's X."
Mr. Graham was preceded in death by his daughter, Leslie Kay Randolph, in 2003.
Mr. Graham is survived by his son, James Graham, of Farmington; sisters Cora Ronquillo, Mary Kay Madrid and Helen Graham Martinez, all of Oracle, Ariz.; four grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Cremation will occur in Arizona. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 17, 2007, at Hood Mortuary Chapel.
