Patsy Rose "Pat" (Harrington) Musser
Marriages
Robert Henwood - October 17, 1941
Thomas B. Musser - September 10, 1951
Burial Details
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 6B - June 26, 2013
Life-long Delta resident Patsy
Rose Harrington Musser passed
away in her own home on June
20, 2013, at the age of 91.
Patsy Rose was born of pioneer
stock on April 11, 1922, to Joseph
and Rose Mary (Aebi) Harrington.
Her mother Rose, born in
Delta in 1885, was listed as an infant in the 1885 census. Her father
Joe quit school after the fifth grade to go to work in Hammond' s
Livery Stable to help support his widowed mother and family of six
children. Patsy Rose was proud of the fact that her mother worked
full-time as a milliner and buyer of ladies' ready-to-wear in
Hillman's Department Store (later Holland's) in an era when there
were few "working mothers". After her father learned the livery
business he and his brother bought it from Henry Hammond. For the
rest of his life Joe was an independent businessman, owning hotels,
cattle and sheep ranches.
Her mother lost her first husband, Fred Bennett, to tuberculosis.
Her father, Joseph lost his first wife, May, in the 1918, Spanish Flu
epidemic. Her mother had two children from her first marriage,
Charles Rockwell Bennett and Marjorie Mae Bennett Pomtier. Her
father, Joseph, had one son, Joseph A., who was raised by his sister,
Molly Hammond and family. Patsy Rose and her sister, Arlene Harrington
Schwalm were the children of Joseph and Rose Harrington.
Patsy Rose grew up in Delta during the Great Depression and
graduated from Delta High School in 1940 as the valedictorian of
her class.
She attended the University of Colorado in Boulder on a scholarship.
While there she married Robert Henwood on October 17,
1941. Their union produced two sons, Michael LeRoy and Kenneth
Alan Henwood. The marriage ended in divorce and Patsy Rose returned
to Delta to raise her two sons, both of whom attended St .
Michael's Catholic School and graduated from Delta High School.
Patsy Rose ("Pat" to her new husband) married Thomas B. Musser,
one of the owners of Musser Brothers Ranches and also a member
of the 1940 class of Delta High School, on September 10, 1951.
Tom and Pat raised Mike and Ken. After the boys' high school
graduations, Pat and Tom started a family of their own. They had
two daughters, Melinda Rose and Christie Marie Musser. Both girls
graduated from the final two classes at the old Delta High School on
Grand Avenue. Pat was proud of the fact that her four children
(educator, college professor, medical technologist, attorney) were
good people and able to make a decent living. She was fond of
saying, "It wasn't easy, but you all made it".
Pat was a caregiver most of her life. In addition to raising two
separate sets of children, she took care of her mother and father in
their declining years, served as a caretaker for her cousin, Genevieve
Hammond, and cared for her husband, Tom, for several years before
he passed away on October 19, 2008.
Pat was an excellent student in school, and particularly strong in
mathematics. She was also fond of poetry, and a voracious reader
with a special fondness for well-plotted mysteries. She watched the
evening news and read the newspaper daily, and enjoyed discussing
current events with family and friends. Pat loved gardening and created
a garden oasis on the 800 block of Main Street. In addition to
large flower and rose gardens, she grew a wide variety of tropical
and subtropical plants. Each fall she brought indoors nearly a
hundred plants that transformed her living and dining rooms into an
exotic garden during the winter cold.
Pat was preceded in death by her parents and four siblings. Her
four children were with her when she died, Michael (Janet) Henwood,
Kenneth Henwood, Melinda (Kim) Musser Hannafious, and
Christie Musser. Pat is also survived by three grandchildren and
seven great-grandchildren, Treve (Faran) Henwood, sons, Lanyon
and Teagan; Kirk (Jill) Henwood, daughters Kacy, Karsen, and
Kenna; and Edward Henwood, sons, Lincoln and August.
At her request there will be no funeral. A private family service
will be held to place the ashes of Tom and Pat together in their grave
at the City of Delta Cemetery. Pat wishes to be remembered by
"flowers at her side and grass at her feet".
Donations may be made to Harden Hospice in Montrose in
memory of Pat Musser.
Arrangements are under the care and direction of Taylor Funeral
Service and Crematory.
View the internet obituary and sign the online guest registry at
taylorfuneralservice.com.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 6A Death Notice - June 26, 2013
Patsy Rose Harrington Musser, 91, Delta, died June 20, 2013,
at her home.
A private family service is planned.
Survivors include two sons, Michael and Kenneth Henwood; two
daughters, Melinda Hannafious and Christie Musser; three grandchildren;
and seven great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Harden Hospice, 924
Spring Creek Road, Montrose 81403.
