Holly McCutcheon
Obituaries
Vail Daily page A7 - July 13, 2000
Memorial service planned for McCutcheon
A local memorial service or former Vail town clerk Holly McCutcheon will take place at noon, July 20 at the Vail Interfaith Chapel.
Holly died last month after a long bout with breast cancer. The informal remembrance will take place on the south side of the Chapel's administrative offices by Gore Creek. In case of rain, the service will take place in the interior basement area that's currently being used for worship while the Chapel is under construction. Parking is a problem, due to the construction, so please plan to walk, bus or use the parking structure. The family has asked that memorials be sent to the Diana Price Fish Foundation, In Memory of Holly McCutcheon, PO Box 22919, Denver, CO 80222-0919
Vail Daily Trail page 3 - June 6, 2000
McCutcheon, former TOV clerk, dies of cancer at 39
Holly McCutcheon, former town of Vail clerk, died early Tuesday morning in her Denver home of the breast cancer she had battled valiantly for nearly six years. She was 39.
A memorial service is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Denver's Christway Community Church, 3021 University Blvd.
A beautiful woman, both physically and spiritually, Holly refused to give in to her doctors' often grim prognosis. She kept a positive attitude and a radiant smile while she researched alternative treatments. Holly traveled to Germany and Mexico in her relentless fight against cancer.
"Holly's a heroine to me," said her nephew, Kurt Beyer of Edwards. "It was a challenge to prove the doctors wrong so many times. She never gave up."
It was the mental part of the battle that allowed her to carry on, despite the pain and side effects she incurred during many treatments. It was Thanksgiving of 1997 when she was told she probably wouldn't make it to the following Christmas.
"Her will was incredible. But Holly would do anything to keep going for her children, her family and her friends," Beyer said. "It was stunning; she always believed she would get better. Holly left an indelible mark on her children.
"Kaitlin is Holly reborn," he said. "She has all of Holly's drive and compassion. It was always Kaitlin and Max that kept her going."
Holly became an outstanding role model who taught both family and friends to live for today, to cherish every moment. That's a legacy Holly leaves that will live on in the many people whose lives she touched.
"Everything was so good about her," said Judy Rodriguez who worked with Holly both at Vail Associates and the Town of Vail.
"We needed her to set the example for us. Holly gave so much to so many people. She had a million friends and was always surrounded by people who loved her. Holly took everybody in and treated everyone with respect. We were all so blessed to have known her."
Tamra Nottingham Underwood worked with Holly at the legal office of Vail Associates and stood as a witness at Holly's second marriage. Underwood describes her close friend as a loving person and a consummate mother.
"Holly represented everything you'd want in a mother," Underwood added. "She was generous, open and sincere. And she was a genuine person; the real thing."
Pam Brandmeyer of the town of Vail sums up the feeling of all those who knew and were touched by Holly's warmth and positive attitude.
"She was the strongest woman I've ever known, and we'll all miss her terribly," Brandmeyer said. "Holly was a remarkable woman who handled all this adversity with such aplomb. Through it all she remained a terrific mother and an incredible friend."
Supportive of all groups that assisted with breast cancer research, support and awareness, Holly was overcome with emotion when the recent Snowshoe Shuffle in Vail was dedicated to breast cancer survivors, and specifically to McCutcheon and Jane Smiley. Holly cited Smiley as a strong role model and mentor to her.
First discovering a lump in her breast while nursing her infant son, Max, now 6, Holly scheduled a mammogram, but it did not indicate any cancer.
McCutcheon, thinking the lump was associated with nursing, waited.
When the lump remained two months after she had stopped nursing, she sought further testing in January 1995. It revealed an aggressive tumor that had already spread to her lymph nodes. After undergoing a double mastectomy with reconstructive surgery in February McCutcheon also endured five months of chemotherapy treatment and eight weeks of radiation therapy.
"My first thought was for my children and how to go through whatever it was I had to go through with them," McCutcheon said in a story written about her three years ago.
You become educated quickly, she added, with the many health decisions that need to be made. Women need to be more pro-active in their health care, Holly encouraged. It's also important that women maintain a strong sense of self and take care of their needs, she said.
"If I were to be faced with the situation again, I would insist on a biopsy immediately." MCCutcheon explained, and wanted to pass that advice along to all women. "The same thing happened with my sister, who was diagnosed at age 29 with breast cancer seven months before I was. Her doctor said keep an eye on it, but my sister insisted on an immediate biopsy."
Holly maintained a mission to foster, through education, early breast cancer detection and diagnosis for all women, because "all women are at risk."
Born Aug. 6, 1960 in Oklahoma, she moved as an infant to Denver. In addition to her children Kaitlin Duffey, 13, and Max McCutcheon, 6, she is survived by her mother Mary Jo Betts of Oregon; sisters Shelley Carmichael of Denver, Christine Nolin (Eric) of Conifer, Leslie Daily (Michael) of Englewood, Amy Bejar of Colorado Springs and Mindy Littlehorn (John) of Hartsel; a grandfather Joseph A. Bradley of Aurora and nieces and nephews Joshua Bejar and Jennae Bejar of Colorado Springs, Antonio Bolling and Sasha Carmichael of Englewood and Joseph Littlehorn of Hartsel.
In lieu of flowers the family request memorial contributions be made to the Diana Fish Foundation in Denver.
