Lana K. ‘Liberty’ Wellington (neé Dennison) of Boulder CO, shed her earthly shell and entered into Glory—her eternal Heavenly home—on Monday, August 10, 2020 at the age of 81. Born on March 13, 1939 in Anderson, Indiana, Lana was the daughter of Celesté (Fessler) Dennison, a dedicated home maker and Dwayne Dennison, a manager with Delco Reemi/General Motors who preceded her in death, along with her loving husband of 35 years, Drury Tod Wellington who was a Captain with United Airlines, and her sister Sandra (Sandy) Snyder of Pellston, Michigan. She is survived by her three daughters—Lisa Kay Wellington of Mobile, AL, Carla Jane Wellington of Colorado Springs, CO, and Sonya (aka Sony) Lynn Brooks of Lyons, CO; her granddaughter Avery Ashmore of Denver, CO and her grandson Ryan Ashmore of Superior, CO; her niece Leslie Ann Speicher of Chicago, IL; and a host of extended family in Seattle, WA; Anderson, IN; and Sebring, FL.
Here is the essence of Lana K. ‘Liberty’ Wellington: First and foremost, she was a lover of God and Jesus Christ and was a true worshipper with her beautiful natural gifts of singing, dancing and flagging. She loved the Word of God. She loved reading the Bible and journaling her thoughts and conversations with God and sharing her insights with family, friends and others. Lana had the natural gift of communication and teaching, and she lead many Bible studies over the years in her home and mentored many people in the Faith, both young and old. Her gift of evangelism was a wonder to see as she loved sharing the gospel message with anyone who would listen; with such clarity, love and grace. She was a gatherer of people—bringing unity and connection not just between the churches in the Boulder/Longmont areas but also in the community, as she volunteered her leadership skills to bring the Memorial Day Veterans Celebration back to the Boulder Bandshell for 4 years in a row. In this way she honored the lives of veterans, and her late husband who served 4 years in the Air Force. Her heart for hospitality was bar none and she loved to welcome people into her home as the consummate host, serving them delicious home-cooked meals with entertaining music and good conversation. Seeing her friends and family enjoying themselves with good food, music and fellowship, brought her so much joy. And she wouldn’t hesitate to welcome strangers in and give them a meal and uplifting, warm conversation—sometimes to the chagrine of friends and family fearing for her safety. But the Lord always protected her; His pure-hearted, fun-loving, vibrant and caring daughter—Lana. Her heart for the homeless often led her to walk through the dark, cold, winter nights in downtown Boulder, pulling her little red wagon filled with heavy warm blankets she had purchased to give to the homeless on the streets. Often times she went alone. Sometimes with friends or family. Regardless, she was a giver of her time, her natural-born talents of art/teaching/speaking/writing/organizing/hosting, and especially her treasures (financially). During one particular season of her life, Lana began boldly preaching what the Lord put on her heart at the Boulder Bandshell by herself. It didn’t matter to her who showed up. She just did what she heard the Lord tell her to do. And often times, it was the homeless who heard the good news. A great woman of faith, Lana did everything with a cheery resolve—even things that seemed difficult, long and hard. She was truly long-suffering and forgiving. She never gave up and was tenacious to see the things she started through to the end. Resilient is one of the best words to describe her if given just one word. Lana loved to pioneer new things. She wasn’t afraid to step out and start something new; something that hadn’t been done before. She brought the ministry of flags to one of the Spirit-filled churches in Boulder and loved to watch the little children ‘fly’ their flags and dance with abandon—laughing and singing and praising the Lord. Her vision to see artists (fine artists, dancers, musicians) know and understand how to use their artistic gifts to glorify God was realized in 2012 when she recruited planners, a dancer and all the people needed to host a half-day conference to let their gifts shine. Lana loved beauty—in the arts, in decorating, in gardening, in nature—and especially in people. Because she knew the One who created all of it—and she loved what He loved. Her artistic gifts extended to her own personal style of dress, where friends, family and strangers alike would admire how her outfits flowed together with her own personal ‘Lana-flair’; her jewelry, hairstyle and makeup completing the ensemble. A beauty to behold; “Always so well-dressed and put together,” people would say. She carried herself regally, like a Queen. In fact, that became her nickname at the nursing home, ‘Queen’. And it was a fitting title for such a daughter of the King.
She was a dedicated prayer warrior, praying for the city of Boulder for years, both alone and on teams with many different churches. She wanted God’s plans to be made manifest in the city she lived in and loved. Her tenacity saw many of these prayers realized. Lana was a strong woman with bold leadership skills. She was determined, articulate and persistent in conveying her thoughts and ideas, while at the same time vulnerable, open, honest and true—willing to listen to differing viewpoints. She knew whom and Whose she was, always desiring open communication and connectedness with others.
Her love for God took her to Israel, the birthplace of her Savior, and she could be heard for many years afterwards sharing the adventures she had there including all the funny mishaps she and her friend experienced. She also ministered in Africa and Mexico on short-term mission trips with her church, bringing God’s love to those she encountered. Lana had the enviable and uncanny ability to make the best of any situation. Her naturally cheery disposition was a blessing and encouragement to many, including her daughters as they went through the normal trials and tribulations, as we all do, through our growing up years. Her daughters always enjoyed receiving her fun care packages through the years, filled with many unique and creative gifts, an encouraging card, and always her homemade banana bread (her grandmother’s recipe). Lana never held a grudge no matter how much someone may have hurt her. Instead she would pray for them. She was seldom down or depressed. Her smile was radiant and her laughter even moreso. Even during the last 5 years of her life, where a debilitating disease required her to downsize greatly from her beautiful home in Longmont where she hosted so many over the years, to a tiny senior apartment and finally a single room in a nursing home—wheelchair bound. Yet she handled these setbacks with such dignity and grace. So much so that she attracted the attention of a well-known professional artist living in the nursing home facility (maybe it was her red hair and red lips too?) and they enjoyed sweet companionship during the last 2 years of her life. One of their favorite things to do—he would play the piano and she would sing all the oldies from the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. They both knew them all by heart and what joy they brought to all those who had the privilege of watching them together.
Now that the essence of Lana has been shared—her true essence—here are some of the detailed highlights of her memorable life: She loved everything music and was a dedicated ‘flagger’ in her high school’s marching band. Lana attended Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana and enjoyed the many activities and outings of her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma. Lana also enjoyed modeling and won the town of Anderson, Indiana’s ‘Miss Fire Engine’ beauty contest with her natural red hair and natural beauty. A lover of travel, she left college just shy of graduating to pursue a flight attendant career with United Airlines out of New York City. After six months of jet-setting, Lana’s high school sweetheart, Tod Wellington, asked her to marry him and such began their adventurous 35-year marriage, where they moved 15 times in the first few years. Lana’s three daughters were all born in Tachikawa, Japan at the United States Airforce Base where her husband flew C130’s during the Vietnam War for four years. Two years after her first daughter, Lisa, was born, she had twins; Carla and Sonya. The story goes that the Japanese hospital was so worried she would have the twins too early, they confined her to a bed in the hospital for 2 months. Even this, she weathered with grace. After leaving Japan, and a short 2-year move back to their hometown in Indiana, Lana and Tod settled in South Florida where they raised their three daughters in the beautiful orange grove estates of Davie. Lana helped design their custom Spanish style home and her exceptional gift for interior design and gardening truly did shine. In addition to her amazing home-making skills, Lana was chauffeur extraordinaire for her three daughters getting them to and from all of their individual after school activities at two different schools and managing to attend most all of their gymnastic, volleyball, cheerleading, and horseback riding competitions; always supporting them in their passions. During this time in Florida, Lana was an avid tennis player and played competitively at area tennis club matches. Her gift of hospitality was bar none as she hosted many monthly gatherings at their home, especially with her church’s Koinonia fellowship group. She excelled at cooking—naturally—and always made her family of five, 3 full meals a day—every day. Her love of learning lead her to enroll in many local classes and courses, including craft making where she designed and made silver jewelry—special gifts for family and friends; and many different crafts including a beautiful quilt she made for each of her daughters on their 16th birthdays. She secretly contacted each of their dozens of friends on the phone (before social media existed!) to have them write something special on the squares that she hand-sewed together, so the quilts would be memorable with their best friends’ heartfelt messages. She lovingly designed and created the most beautiful scrapbooks for each daughter—capturing the essence of their years from childhood through high school; a treasured gift that her daughters carry with them. And when it came to their birthdays, Lana outdid herself hosting a gaggle of hormonal and loud teens annually with pool parties, homemade birthday cakes and some kind of fun entertainment that left everybody with fond memories. Yes, she was the hostess with the mostess and her outstanding gift of hospitality brought so many people so much joy.
In 1987, Lana and her husband Tod made their final move to the beautiful state of Colorado where Tod was transferred with United Airlines. It was here, in Boulder, where they built their Victorian dream home—and Lana lovingly decorated the inside to be just like a Victorian replica home, warm and inviting—while she worked diligently to design and landscape the front and back yards. She brought her gardens to life with every kind of flowering perennial, tulips, running fountains and peaceful bubbling brooks. A paradise. In fact, Lana found a great deal of happiness in her beautiful gardens, alone with her Lord, pouring over His Word in her well-worn Bible. Spending time with Him. The Lover of her soul.
Many friends asked her to help them decorate their own homes, so she decided to start her own business, “Lana’s Interiors” where she could monetize her interior design skills and bring beauty to the homes of others. A self-taught artist, Lana painted many beautiful paintings throughout her life in oil, acrylic and water colors and gave them all away to family and friends. Priceless keepsakes. She was also quite the pie baker; making all kinds of delicious pies for every occasion; her red cherry pie winning Boulder’s Pie Contest for being, ‘the most realized’. Lana was always tickled pink and laughed when she retold this story and the judges’ unique choice of words, ‘most realized’.
At the age of 55, Lana went back to school and completed her last semester of college at Colorado Christian University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications—proving it doesn’t matter how old you are—you can persevere and finish what you start. Her thesis, ‘The Gap in Interconnectedness in the Boulder area Churches’, was so well-researched and written, it was used by several area church leaders who valued Lana’s wisdom, counsel and desire for connectedness that flowed from it.
Her beloved husband Tod’s unexpected passing in 1998 brought many changes to Lana’s life. She sold their beautiful two-story dream home in Boulder and with the proceeds, purchased a lovely ranch home in a new subdivision in Longmont, that she again decorated so beautifully with her special flair for interior design. Many gatherings were held in her Longmont home; birthday celebrations, Holiday dinners with entertainment, Bible studies and prayer meetings—and the blessing of strangers. In 2011, Lana held a book signing party for one of her daughters who had just co-authored her first book. She was so happy and proud to encourage her daughters in their passions and callings on their lives, and was a great support for their many ventures over the years—both in prayer and provision.
Lana was able to see and bring out God’s special beauty in the people and the world around her—that most of us would miss. She reflected God’s tenacious heart for others and brought vibrant life wherever she went. She was a devoted wife, a loving mother and grandmother, a friend to the friendless and the homeless, a leader in ministry and in the church, and a bold pioneer for the things of God. Sometimes misunderstood, but never allowing herself to quit the race marked out for her—even during her last four challenging and difficult years in the nursing home. She was never more vulnerable than in the final months of her life, which she faced with so much courage, dignity and grace. Our lives are richer and brighter because of Lana K. ‘Liberty’ Wellington being in them. She is missed greatly by her family and all those knew her. We are grateful for Lana’s life and the legacy she left. We take comfort knowing she is finally at peace with her Heavenly Father who she loved so much; dancing again without any pain or sorrow, wearing her Crown of Life. Hers is the victory.
Family and friends are invited to remember and honor Lana’s life during her Special Memorial Service on Friday, August 21st at 1:00 pm, at Crist Mortuary, 3395 Penrose Pl, Boulder, CO 80301; with graveside interment service (a special Celebration of Lana’s Life) following, directly across the street at Mountain View Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made in Lana’s behalf to one of two nonprofits: (1) Boulder Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) to help send veterans to a local Christian Retreat www.camphummelvetretreat.webador.com/. Please send your donation to VFW Post 807, PO Box 17592, Boulder CO 80308 with a note on check for Veterans Relief Fund & Retreat on behalf of Lana K. Wellington; and (2) Donations can also be given online to Save The Storks at https://savethestorks.com/donate/.
The family also invites you to leave a special heartfelt message or memory you have of Lana. Just click below on 'Add A Memory'. Thank you.
SHARE OBITUARYSHARE
v.1.13.0