Verna Bulah (Bowland) Pretti
Obituaries
Daily Sentinel page 5A Obituary - August 19, 2020
Verna B. Pretti of Olathe,
CO, passed away peacefully on
Monday, August 10, 2020, at the
Colorow Care Center in Olathe,
CO.
Verna was born in Yuma, CO
on October 12, 1924, to Oscar
W. and Olive B. Bowland. The
family lived in western Kansas
at the time. In 1937, the family
moved to western Colorado
where Oscar worked as a finish carpenter and cabinet builder, and
all the children attended school. Verna graduated from Silt Union
High School in 1941.
Verna was married to Melvin Joseph Pretti, also a resident of Silt,
Colorado, on October 17, 1942, in San Antonio, Texas, when he was
on leave from the Army, and stationed in Alaska. Following the
end of WWII, they moved back to Western Colorado, where they
ranched in several areas, before divorcing in 1971.
She started a long career with Mountain Bell Telephone on June
15, 1953, where she worked for 36 years, starting as a switchboard
operator, and working up to manager level in Glenwood Springs,
and in Colorado Springs, retiring in 1983. After retiring, Verna
spent her years in Western Colorado and the Oregon coast, enjoying
her well-deserved life of independence and leisure, especially
traveling, music, and quilting.
Verna was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Gerald
Bowland and Dean Bowland; sisters, Lorna Dean, and Veronice
Frickey, and younger siblings, Darwin Lee, and Arlie Eugene.
Verna had three children she is survived by Lonnie Pretti, of Port
Orford, Oregon; Rodney Pretti, of Delta, Colorado, and Raelyn
Pretti of Pueblo, Colorado; eight grandchildren, one of whom
preceded her in death; seven great-grandchildren; two great-greatgrandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. Other survivors
include brothers, Martin (Rose) Bowland, Orville (Katherine)
Bowland, and Jay (Sandy) Bowland, and sister, Leona Meadors.
Memorial services will be held at a later date.
Crippin Funeral Home is assisting Mrs. Pretti’s family.
