Elvera Arene "Vera" (Berg) Fenn
Marriages
Albert Herman Fenn
Burial Details
Obituaries
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 8B Death Notices - August 6, 2014
Elvera “Vera” A. Fenn, 86, Grand Junction, died Aug. 2, 2014, at HopeWest.
A memorial service will be 1 p.m. Saturday at the Callahan-Edfast Mortuary Chapel.
Ms. Fenn was a hairdresser.
She is survived by one son, Virgil of Grand Junction; one daughter, Shirley Fenn of Grand Junction; and one sister, Alice Parrish of Wray.
Memorial contributions to Latimer House Counseling and Advocacy Center, 1003 Main St., Grand Junction 81501.
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel page 8B Obituaries - August 6, 2014
Elvera Arene Berg Fenn
October 16, 1927 - August 2, 2014
Elvera was born in 1927, on her parent’s farm, north of Fruita. She went to the public schools in Fruita, Colorado, graduating from Fruita Union High School, class of 1945. She played the clarinet in the marching band and worked on the farm. She lived for a time with her Aunt Anna Berg on Gunnison Avenue, in Grand Junction while she attended business classes at Mesa College, where she met the tall Texan she later married, Albert Herman Fenn. The couple lived in Hotchkiss, where their son, Virgil, was born. Then they lived in Grand Junction near the southeast corner of Patterson Road and 12th Street. Daughter Shirley was born. She was a stay-at-home mom. She said her happiest times were spend reading to her children when they were young. She always made a garden; her specialty was tomatoes. Her green tomato pie was as legendary as her apple pie. She made quilts and clothing and was a gifted cook.
The family moved, following Al’s work, to Norwood, Colorado. They lived in a little apartment above the drug store, a building which still exists. Later the family moved to a little house at the top of Norwood hill. There were sheep there, and cactus. Al was transferred to Pueblo, by his employer, New York Life. As the fifties came to a close, the family moved to Denver where better schools were available. Al attended barber school, and “Miss Vera”, as she was known in the cosmetology circle, learned how to do hair. They had a little barber and beauty shop in South Denver, but divorced in 1968. Virgil joined the army, and Shirley later joined the Woman’s Army Corps.
Vera, now a single woman, struck out on her own with a Beauty Shop in Steamboat Springs. She flew to Germany to live with Shirley, and Miss Vera got a job on post in the beauty shop. She made friends with other Americans, and spent most of her free time driving around Europe in Shirley’s VW bus. Vera was in Germany for nearly a year, but she returned to Fruita because her Mother had a heart attack. When in Germany, Vera bought a long-haired standard Dachshund, named Jimmy von Nurenberger who was her best friend for 12 years. Miss Vera bought a little beauty shop in Crawford, Colorado, and had another successful business. Vera lived in Fruita for a few years, working at the Coors Porcelain Plant. She loved to pack her mother and her uncle Bud, Robert Parish, into the car and go on a trip, or even a short drive.
In her “retirement” Vera worked with children in the safe house for abused women. She worked in the reading program at Broadway School for several years, through the Foster Grand Parent Program. Vera, Virgil and Shirley bought a duplex on the Redlands, where she lived with Jimmy’s successor, her miniature Dachshund, Coco. Vera was on the Advisory Board of Rainbow Girls and attended the Methodist Church. Vera traveled with Shirley to Sweet Adeline Conventions around the US and went to Mexico with Virgil. She went on several camping trips to National Parks in the western US. Vera was troubled with severe back pain and Parkinson’s Disease in her later years, but she went to Eastern Star Meetings, and met with her friends from high school as long as she could. She enjoyed car trips, just riding around seeing the scenery, and phoned daily to family and friends. Everyone always said she was a “very nice lady”. She was.
Services will take place on Saturday, August 9 at 1:00 p.m. at Callahan- Edfast Mortuary. Refreshments will be served after the service at the Masonic Center, 2400 Consistory Court, off 1st Street, between Patterson and Orchard Ave.
