Della Duran Nuanez

Nuanez, Della D. (Duran) Age 99 1/2 passed away April 7th in Phoenix, AZ. Born and raised in St. Johns, Arizona, her father, Donocio Duran was County Assessor, then Sheriff of Apache County and owner of one of the first automobiles in the county.

Her widowed mother had to raise 7 children. Proceeded in death by husband Gilbert Nuanez and Grandson Austin Wilson, also 2 brothers and 5 sisters. She is survived by her son, Gilbert Nuanez, daughter Darlene Wilson and sister Dudy Duran, also three granddaughters and four great-grandchildren. She met and married Gilbert Nuanez a Sedona cowboy, starting out their life together after a Jerome wedding when her wedding party was trapped on the wrong side of a raging Oak Creek and where they all spent the night in an abandoned old schoolhouse. Della and her husband Gil moved about the southwest, living in Skull Valley, then on a large ranch south of Tucson then on a ranch off the coast off California on the Channel Islands where they started to raise a family. During World War II she worked at the Phoenix Alcoa plant operating large overhead industrial cranes. They stayed in Phoenix raising Gil and Linda their children. Della had an interesting life, she could ride like a cowboy then dance like a pro! She once drove the chuck wagon on the spring cattle drive up Shnebley Hill road up from Sedona past Munds Park on the rim. Della was a strong woman in the Western tradition. She lived life on her own terms with conviction and determination and spent a long and full life with a large and loving family. Visitation will be on Thursday, April 10, 2014 from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. at A.L. Moore Grimshaw Mortuary, 710 W Bethany Home Rd, Phoenix. Service will be held on Friday, April 11, 2014 at 10:00 A.M. at Sts. Simon & Jude Cathedral, 6351 N 27th Ave, Phoenix, AZ. Interment to follow at St. Francis Cemetery. Condolences may be sent to www.almoore-grimshaw.com.