United States High School Yearbooks by County
Maria Vincenta “Bessie” Romero
Maria Vincenta “Bessie” Romero, 83, died Aug. 31 at the Mantey Heights Care Center. She was born in San Rafael, N.M. on March 22, 1921, to Isidro and Maria C. (Valencia) Martinez.Romero grew up in San Rafael, graduating from Espanola High School. She moved to Leadville, where she married Joseph A. Romero in 1942. She was an accomplished seamstress and, for a time, took in sewing. But Romero’s “occupation” was truly her family. She enjoyed gardening, crocheting and tatting and taught herself how to knit; she was a wonderful cook.A lifelong member of St. Joseph Catholic Church, Romero was devoted to her faith. She belonged to the Altar and Rosary Society and Catholic Daughters, where she gave generously of her time using her handiwork talent to make beaded rosaries.Romero was preceded in death by her parents, siblings, and her husband Joe, who died in 1991.She is survived by her children Marie Teresa (Paul) Frey, Grand Junction; Ramona Celia (Donald) Matlock, Grand Lake; and Joseph David (Kay L.) Romero, Colorado Springs; grandchildren Jim and Dawn Matlock; David and Jeff Romero; Scott and Bill Jackson; and Trudy Wight; great grandchildren Tyler, Bryce and Kayla Romero; and Austin, Amanda, Heather and Ashley Jackson; as well as numerous other relatives.The Rosary was recited by Romero’s good friend, Sue Fikany, on Sept. 3 and Mass of Christian Burial was on Sept. 4, both at St. Joseph Catholic Church. Father Jay Jung officiated and Beverly Pologar played the organ.Romero was laid to rest next to her husband in St Joseph Cemetery in Leadville. Pallbearers were Jim and Dawn Matlock, David and Jeff Romero, and Scott, Bill and Austin Jackson.Arrangements were handled by Bailey Funeral Home.
Mark Halden Chaney
Mark Halden Chaney, 62, of O’Fallon, Ill., born Jan. 10,
1944, in Decatur, Ill., died Friday, Sept. 15, 2006 in
O’Fallon.
Chaney was a member of St. Nicholas Catholic Church,
Knights of Columbus Council 4239, Decatur Aero Club,
Scott Air Force Base Aero Club, Aircraft Owners and Pilots
Assn., National Rifle Assn., and the Honda Riders Club of
America. Chaney was an avid golfer, commercial licensed
pilot, motorcycle enthusiast and a doting father and
grandfather. He was employed as a personnel manager for
Archer Daniels Midland, ARTCO Division, and had also been
a law enforcement officer and detective. He was a Vietnam
veteran and a military policeman, serving in the U.S. Army.
He and his wife were Leadville residents from 1970 to 1975.
Chaney worked at Climax Molybdenum Company as a
personnel manager and as a human resources manager.
His wife is a graduate of Leadville High School, class of
1963.
Chaney was preceded in death by his parents, Earl W. and
Dorothy V. Coleman Chaney; a brother, Forrest Chaney;
and two nephews, Ted Martinez Jr. and Terry Martinez. He
is survived by his wife Cynthia Montoya Chaney of O’Fallon,
daughter Stacey L. (Michael W.) Lentz of O’Fallon, a son
Mark A. Chaney and fiancé Keri S. Clifford of Worchester,
Mass.; three sisters, Lana Bartley of Stevenson Ranch,
Calif., Hope Shriver and Beth Chaney, both of Decatur, Ill.;
a grandchild, Kelsey Lentz of O’Fallon; mother-in-law Lucy
V. Quintana of Pueblo, Colo.; and five sisters-in-law, Jane
Chaney Gordon of Decatur, Ill., Sophia Chavez of Pueblo,
Evelyn and Ted Martinez of Pueblo, Carla and Mike Jensen
of Denver, and Mary V. Nygren of Denver.
Visitation will be held Saturday, Sept. 23, from 10:30 to 11
a.m. at St. Nicholas Catholic Church. Memorial mass will
follow with Monsignor William Hitpas officiating.
Memorials may be made to St. Nicholas Catholic Church or
Hospice of Southern Illinois.
At the family’s request, Chaney will be cremated, with his
cremains returning to Pueblo, Colo.
Schildknecht Funeral Home in O’Fallon is in charge of
arrangements.
Mike Sullivan
Mike Sullivan, 59, of Dorsey, Ill., formerly of Loveland and
Leadville, died at his home on Tuesday, Sept. 12.
Sullivan was born on Nov. 15, 1946, to the late Nels A. and
Ethelyn A. (Crawford) Sullivan, in Loup City, Neb.
The family moved to Leadville where Sullivan graduated
from high school in 1965. His father served as
superintendent of schools here from 1965 until 1978.
Sullivan wed Cheryl (Smith) Martin on June 19, 1999, at
Double Heart farm in Dorsey. She survives him.
He is also survived by his stepmother, Jean Sullivan of
Westminster; daughters Heather (Casey) Mason of Colorado
Springs and Lindsey Martin of Dorsey; grandchildren
Jasmine Mason and James Mason; special nieces and
nephews Jennifer Mueller, Sara Candelaria, Travis Bartell
and Tamara Bartell; sisters Kathi Sullivan and husband
Delmer Rochelle, Del Norte, and Marti Sullivan of Ft. Worth,
Texas; stepsister Sharon Johnstone of Thornton;
stepbrothers Bruce Emery of Denver, Mark Emery of
Steamboat Springs; uncle George (Genie) Sullivan of
Lincoln, Neb.; in-laws Norman and Sandra Smith of East
Alton, Ill. and brother-in-law Geff Smith of East Alton.
He was preceded in death by his parents and a stepbrother,
Rex Emery Jr.
Sullivan was a truck driver for Jarden Brothers Trucking in
Bunker Hill, Ill. An avid horseman, he was a past member
of Rocky Mountain Reining Horse Association. He also was a
veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
Private family services will be held at a later date.
Memorial contributions may be sent to Washington
University Siteman Cancer Center, Melanoma Research
Program, (314) 935-4725 or www.siteman.wustl.edu.
Landers Funeral Home in Bunker Hill, Ill., handled the
arrangements.
Andrew “Andy” Champeau
Andrew Champeau died Sept. 9, in Denver with his
grandsons at his side. He was 98 years old.
Champeau was born on Jan. 6, 1908, in Somerset, Wis. He
was the second oldest of eight boys born to a French
Canadian farming couple. His education was topped off by a
car trip throughout the United States, including the Chicago
World’s Fair.
He began mining in the South Dakota mines of Lead, where
word of Climax Molybdenum was going around. He arrived
in Leadville and soon found work as a miner at Climax. He
didn’t serve in the armed forces since his employment at
Climax was considered a vital part of the war effort.
He married Rose Vidmar at St. Joseph Catholic Church in
Leadville, and together they raised a son, Donald (Rose
Marie Dwyer) Champeau of Gainesville, Ga., and a
daughter, Mary Louise (Joe Dwyer) of Leadville.
He was “Poppa” to his grandchildren Keith (Lisa)
Champeau, Kieran (Lydia Anne) Champeau in Denver,
Andrew Champeau in Georgia, Correen (Michael) Martinez
in Greeley and Michael Dwyer in Thornton. He also had four
great-grandchildren, Christopher Martinez, Matthew
Martinez and two brand-new great-grandbabies, Makayla
Rose Martinez and Joseph Kieran Champeau. They both
visited him in his nursing home and gave him much joy.
Champeau was preceded in death by his wife of 64 years;
six of his brothers, and a son-in-law, Joseph. His brother
Ervin of Iowa survives him.
He retired from Climax Molybdenum after 35 years working
as a laborer, shift boss and finally as a repairman in the
warehouse, his favorite job. They then moved to Denver
where he made lots of friends and grew a wonderful garden.
Andy, as his friends knew him, was a wealth of stories and
knowledge. He could fix anything and would resort to
fabricating the parts if none was available. He saved
everything, for he never knew when he would need it again
to use it for a repair. He was beloved by several Catholic
parishes in Denver where he volunteered his time doing his
magic to keep the schools and churches in repair.
He loved Leadville and climbed Mt. Elbert when he was 77,
but long before then he hunted throughout the whole
range. He regretted not buying land in Avon when it was for
sale for $10 an acre, when his grandsons took him on a
tour of the Vail Valley several years ago.
Rosary was Friday, Sept. 15; Mass of Christian Burial was
Saturday, Sept. 16 at the Archdiocese of Denver Mortuary.
He was then entombed with his wife Rose, in the Madonna
Mausoleum at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Denver. The Reverend
Monsignor Raymond Jones officiated.
Those wishing may make memorial contributions to their
own favorite charities.
RoseMarie Helen Gurule-Sayers
RoseMarie Helen Gurule-Sayers, 49, of Mississippi died
Sept. 11 after a two-month illness.
Gurule-Sayers was born in Leadville on Dec. 4, 1956, to
Rudy (Gilbert) Gurule and
Dorothy Medina-Gurule. She graduated from high school in
Leadville.
She married Robert Sayers of Petal, Miss., in Leadville on April
1, 1987. They raised two children, Robert Sayers III of Willemstadt,
Curacao, Venezuela, and Erica Sayers of Hattiesburg, Miss.
She belonged to Annunciation Catholic Church until 1987.
She liked to crochet, listen to music, read and, most of all,
spend time with her grandson, Gabriel Landon Long, whom
she was rearing.
She is survived by her husband, father, son, daughter,
grandson and sisters Mickie (Robert) Pacheco and Patty
(Tom) Jaramillo, both of Leadville.
She is also survived by nieces and nephews in Leadville,
including Katrina and Stevie Pacheco and Nicole, Ashley and
Briana Jaramillo. Her aunt and uncle, Helen and Gene Holt,
reside in Utah. She also had numerous other relatives in
Leadville and New Mexico, and cousins in Salt Lake City and
Alaska.
Services were held on Sept. 15 at St. Thomas Catholic
Church in Mississippi. Pallbearers included Tom Jaramillo,
Robert Pacheco, Cortney Fischer, Harley Fischer, Ricky
Chambliss and Ryan Jaynes. She was interred in Highland
Cemetery in Mississippi.
