Leona Mae (Rickstrew) Alber
Marriages
Carl H "Bud" Alber - January 6, 1949
Burial Details
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 6 A Notice - May 16, 2012
Leona M. Alber, 85, Grand
Junction, died May 12, 2012, at
her home.
Services will take place at 2
p.m. June 1 at Martin Mortuary.
Ms. Alber was a homemaker.
Survivors include three
sons, Vaughn of Grand Junction,
John of Spring Hill, Fla.,
and Terry of Boise, Idaho;
one daughter, Pam Belcher of
Grand Junction; two brothers,
Virgil Rickstrew and Lonnie
Rickstrew, both of De Beque;
one sister, Velma Etchevery of
Grand Junction; 13 grandchildren;
six great-grandchildren;
and one great-great-grandchild.
Memorial contributions to
Hospice & Palliative Care of
Western Colorado, 3090B North
12th St., Grand Junction 81506.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 6 A Obit - May 17, 2012
Leona Rickstrew married Carl
H. “Bud” Alber on January 6,
1949. He was the love of her life
and she never found another to
replace him in the 23 years he
was lost to her.
She is survived by four of her
five children; ten grandchildren;
six of seven great-grandchildren,
and one great-great-grandchild.
Married for 40 years, Leona and Bud first met after the close of
WWII when Lieutenant Alber returned from the Pacific Theatre.
She married him, she said, because he could ride a horse. They
ranched at Parachute, CO until 1956 bringing three of their five
children into the world there.
After leaving ranching, Bud joined the Soil Conservation Service.
He and Leona lived in Flagler, Burlington, Bethune, Cortez, Alamosa,
and Cedaredge, CO respectively before returning to the Grand
Valley in 1984.
Born in Debeque, CO, Leona married a man from the sports rival
area, Parachute, CO and for Leona, the teasing began. You just can’t
marry a sports rival guy and come away unscathed!
Leona’s husband was a tease, he called her his “Bell of the Bluestone”
for the Bluestone Valley where she grew up. He introduced
her as his roommate at the CSU Alumni meetings, and told her that
anything within a mile of the home place was woman’s work.
Leona loved to walk the high desert Pinion, Juniper country and
spent innumerable hours at that pursuit. Anyone visiting Leona was
invited to stay and eat. She could really make a great Cherry pie.
Services will be held at Martin Mortuary on June 1st at 2:00 p.m.
with a pot luck following at Sherwood Park’s south pavilion.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Leona’s memory
to Hospice & Palliative Care of Western Colorado, 3090B North
12th Street, Grand Junction, CO 81506.
