Dorothy Estella Howard
Burial Details
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 3C - August 21, 2011
A remarkable woman, Dorothy E. Howard, has passed from this
life at the age of 96. She had been a resident at Larchwood Inn for
the past year.
Dorothy was born May 24, 1915, in Ottawa, Kansas, the oldest of
W.B. and Nellie (Gilliland) Howard's three children. She attended
public schools in Kansas and graduated from Lane High School.
She studied under the Sisters of St. Joseph at Wichita Hospital
School of Nursing where she earned her RN certificate in 1937.
Dorothy then moved to Grand Junction to be near her family who
had recently moved to Fruita. She worked for Dr. Jaros and Dr. Day
as their office nurse prior to joining the Navy Nurse Corps during
WWII. After her tour of service in the US Navy she continued her
education at the University of Colorado where she earned a BS in
nursing. She was a Public Health Nurse for the Colorado Department
of Public Health in Denver for many years and became an administrator
for that agency. She left Colorado to pursue a MS degree
from Columbia University in New York prior to teaching
nursing at Montana State College in Bozeman. After leaving Montana
she spent a year studying abroad in Norway. Dorothy returned
to Colorado where she was the Nursing Program Coordinator at the
American Medical Center in Denver. Dorothy was a pioneer in the
field of cancer nursing. She returned to the Grand Valley where she
was the Nursing Education Coordinator for the Western Colorado
Area Health Education Center until her retirement. In addition to her
nursing career Dorothy was a gifted photographer, great fly fisherman,
amazing knitter and weaver, fantastic cook, world traveler, and
carver of spectacular birds. She loved to read and play poker. Aunt
Dorothy was the best aunt in the world.
Dorothy is survived by her sister, Evelyn Kyle of Grand Junction;
brother, Col. H. B. (Edna) Howard (USAF Retired) of Springfield,
OH; her nieces, Sandra (Frank) Pyle, and Mari Martin both of Dolores;
Joan Kyle of Telluride; Mary (Eric) Putnam of St. Paris, OH;
nephews, Jim Kyle of Clifton, and Bruce (Darlene) Howard of
Western Springs, IL. Eleven great-nieces and nephews and ten
great-great-nieces and nephews also survive. She was preceded in
death by her parents; her nephew, Nick Kyle; great-nephew, Richard
Russell, and her dear friend, Hy Berger.
Cremation has taken place. A graveside service at the Elmwood
Cemetery in Fruita with the Rev. Muzz Ebrite presiding will be held
at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 27. A Celebration of Dorothy's
Life will follow at the Church of the Nativity, 2175 Broadway in
Grand Junction starting at 3:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers the family
suggests that donations in Dorothy's name be made to Hospice &
Palliative Care of Western Colorado, 3090 North 12th Street, Unit
B, Grand Junction, Colorado 81506.
