Amy Sue Fairchild
Burial Details
Obituaries
Leadville Herald Democrat - July 8, 1999
Amy Sue FAIRCHILD was just 17 when she died in an auto accident on June 28 near Redcliff. Born on Nov. 25, 1981 in Denver to Peggy ROWE and Terry FAIRCHILD weighing only 1 lb. 13 oz., she started her life as a fighter.
Even thous she was to tiny, it never stopped her from joining all activities. She would have been a junior at Lake County High School this fall. She loved playing T-ball and taking part in Girl Scouts and dance class. As she grew, she enjoyed playing softball in the summer and basketball in the winter. Amy loved cruising in her mother's car with her cousins, who will miss her every day.
She was a member of the Catholic Community and was an altar girl.
She was preceded in death by two grandmothers, Helen ROWE and Pat HARDY and her aunt, Bonnie FAIRCHILD. She is survived by her parents, Peggy ROWE, Leadville, and Terry FAIRCHILD, Grand Junction; grandfather John ROWE, Canon City; grandparents Benny and Janis FAIRCHILD, Grand Junction; great-grandmother Mahamalea FAIRCHILD, Salida; seven aunts, Theresa (Jeff) RUTKEY, Leadville; Anna (David) FEAR, Canon City; Shona (Wes) THOMAS, Grand Junction; Maggie (Dan) FOSTER, W. Va.; Pam (Randy) NYGREN, Gypsum; Susan (Jerry) KISSEL, Ariz. and Sherry HARDY, Phoenix; and four uncles, George ROWE, Eagle Vail; Bob ROWE, Kansas; John (Brenda) ROWE, Mo.; and Billie HARDY, Phoenix. She is also survived by many cousins, great aunts and great uncles.
Amy had a very special relationship with her great aunt Dot MARBLE, Salida. Amy loved her like a grandmother.
The Rosary was recited July 1 and Mass of Christian Burial July 2, both at Annunciation Catholic Church. Father Tom KILLEEN officiated and Patti SMITH sang accompanied by Jean ELLIOTT.
Pallbearers were George and Robert ROWE, Jeff RUTKEY, David FEAR, John ROWE, Jr. and John LACEY. Honorary pallbearers were Jerry and Stephen RUTKEY, John FEAR and David FEAR, Jr., Jason CERISE and Jared O'LEARY. Interment was in St. Joseph cemetery.
The family received friends at a reception at La Cantina Restaurant.
Arrangements ere handled by Bailey Funeral Home.
Those wishing may make memorial contributions to the Amy Sue Fairchild Memorial Fund c/o First Mountain Bank, 403 Harrison Ave., Leadville, CO 80461.
Vail Daily - June 29, 1999
Girl's car falls off side of Battle Mountain Pass, by Elizabeth Mattern.
Red Cliff -- A 17-year-old Leadville resident is dead after driving her car off a notorious 700-foot embankment at Battle Mountain Pass near Red Cliff early Monday morning.
Witnesses in the car behind Amy Sue FAIRCHILD saw her vehicle weaving on U.S. Highway 24 as she drove from Leadville toward Minturn at 2:30 a.m., police said. When she reached a part of the highway that veers right, just north of the higher entrance to Red Cliff, she put on her left turn signal and turned her car off the cliff, according to Sgt. Ron PRATER of the Colorado State Patrol.
"It seems she intentionally went that direction," PRATER said. "From the preliminary investigation, we feel that alcohol was a factor."
FAIRCHILD was not speeding, PRATER said. She was wearing her seat belt and remained in the vehicle as it rolled numerous times and fell into the canyon, landing on the railroad tracks. She was found dead from the impact. Emergency crews reached her via the railroad and extracted her from the car.
FAIRCHILD had been working at her job at Leadville's Safeway before the accident, PRATER said.
aWitnesses in the car behind Fairchild tried to call 911 from their cellular phone but could not get service, Prater said, so they flagged down another motorist who drove north until her phone worked.
"The witnesses stopped, backed up, got out of the behicle, and they could still hear the car crashing down the Mountainside, PRATER said.
There was no evidence that any car had hit FAIRCHILD's vehicle before she headed off the cliff, he said. The point where her car left the highway is a widened shoulder area just 15 feet from the spot where a guard rail begins.
"Who knows--if she was intoxicated, she might have thought she was pulling into her driveway," PRATER said.
To Red Cliff Assistant Town Clerk Bob SLAGLE, Monday's accident sounds too familiar. Included in recent Highway 24 fatalities near the same spot on Battle Mountain was Gabriel MEDINA, 17, of Leadville, who died Jan. 4 while on his way to work in Vail. His vehicle plunged more than 200 feet from the snowy lanes of the highway to the bottom of the canyon.
After MEDINA's death, there were several suggestions from our residents that we start pushing to get guard rails on Battle Mountain so we'd stop losing our citizens," SLAGLE said.
MEDINA's family also petitioned the Colorado Department of Transportation to install more guard rails on the highway after his fatal accident.
We have scoped some money for guard rails on Highway 24 between Minturn and Leadville," said Jim NALL, traffic and safety engineer for CDOT. "We're currently putting together some plans. These plans, of course, take a little while, but we're trying to get the project out to bid as soon as possible."
CDOT is holding a meeting July 7 organized by the Lake County Commissioners to gather public comment from Leadville citizens on the upcoming highway improvement project, which could also include widening and installation of passing lanes. The gathering will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Mining Museum in Leadville. [---] assisted the CSP in the response effort, which lasted several hours.
