Jean Canady King

Lois Jean Collings was born to Fred Eugene Collings and Lola Estel Evans on June 17, 1925 in Princeton, Missouri. She died January 16, 2017 at the Denver Hospice at Lowry. She is survived by her two sons Danny & Charlene Canady, Douglas Canady & Victoria Kwasinski,; five grandchildren, Christian Canady, Rachelle Canady, Jesiah Canady, Hannah Canady-Dangel, and Luke Canady; and 10 great-granchildren.

Her father was a farmer and she and her older sister Mary grew up on small farms in and around Mercer County, Missouri. She met her future husband Leland Canady while she was still in high school in Newtown, Missouri. After she graduated they were married on March 14, 1942. Leland enlisted in the army and Jean and her cousin Margaret moved to Kentucky so she could be near Leland while he was in basic training. She stayed in Kentucky while he was overseas during the war and worked at a café waiting tables. They returned to Missouri for a short time when he returned but soon decided they would move to California. They stopped in Grand Junction, Colorado to visit an uncle and they never left Colorado. She worked at a bakery/café while he began his apprenticeship as a plumber. They moved to Aurora, Colorado in 1953 where she lived, except for a short time in Canon City, for the rest of her life. She was a housewife until the boys were old enough to go to school. Then she began her career in retail sales, at Eakers and Joslins, where she received many sales awards. After Leland died in 1991, she sold the house she had lived in for 35 years and moved to Heather Gardens. She later married James King and they moved to Canon City, where they enjoyed gardening and traveled the country in their R.V.. After Jim died, she moved back to Heather Gardens where she has lived until her death. She enjoyed relatively good health and remained very active and independent even driving until just a few months ago.

She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She never missed a birthday and surrounded herself with pictures of her family. Her faith in God and church life were always an important part of her life. She was a member of Aurora Community Baptist Church, later Galilee Baptist Church, and the Heather Gardens Chapel. Her life-long friends from church and her neighbors from her building at Heather Gardens were her loving community. She leaves behind a wonderful legacy of family and friends.

In lieu of flowers the family has asked that donations be made to the Denver Hospice at Lowry. You can donate online at www.denverhospice.org or by mail at:

The Denver Hospice

501 S. Cherry Street, Suite # 700

Denver, CO 80246