Mable Amelia Colgate

Mable Amelia (Wolff) Colgate died July 27, 2015 at the Joni Fair Hospice House in Pueblo CO after a short hospital stay due to complications from a stroke. She would have been 95 on August 9. Mable was born in 1920 in Silver Cliff, Colorado to Robert Theodore and Lorena Edith (Zentz) Wolff. Descendent of pioneers, her grandfather Louis W. Wolff came to the Wet Mountain Valley in the 1870’s where he worked as a scissor sharpener and ran a saloon; her grandmother was a tailor. Her father worked in the local mines and did blacksmithing, while her mother sold eggs and milk which Mable helped deliver. Mable grew up in the mining community of Ilse, and in the Wolff family home in Silver Cliff. Her youth spanned prohibition, the dust bowl, and the depression but her memories were of good times and a happy childhood. As a girl she enjoyed her pets, visiting with friends, and riding horseback over the prairies around Westcliffe. She worked picking peas and lettuce at the local valley farms for spending money, and when she was older helped deliver feed to cattle on some of the local ranches. She was a member of Girls Friendly, enjoyed reading and was known as a good artist. Mable attended grade school in the mining camps and in Silver Cliff, and attended high school at Custer County High School, graduating in 1938. During World War II, she worked for the government rationing office (Office of Price Administration) in Westcliffe. After the war, she met Oliver William (Bill) Colgate and they married in 1946. They lived for some time in Silver Cliff, then moved to Fort Collins while Bill attended Colorado State University on the G.I. Bill to obtain a degree in Agronomy. They started their family there with daughter Sharon and son Bob. Mable worked as a housewife and mother while the family lived in Salida CO, Flagler CO, and for 22 years in Fort Lupton Colorado where daughters Patti and Peggy came along. In Fort Lupton, Mable also worked as a teacher’s aide for kindergarten classes and loved being a second grandmother to the students. She also continued with her art and was involved in square dancing and cards with friends. After Bill’s retirement from the Soil Conservation Service in 1978, Mable and Bill moved to Canon City CO where Mable enjoyed working in her garden and orchard. She was known for canning 100 quarts of peaches each fall. Mable also valued spending time at her mountain property in the Sangre De Cristos, reading, gathering wild flowers, and visiting with friends and relatives. Her main interest was her family, who she looked after and worried over until the very end of her life. Mable lived in the family home in Canon for 36 years until shortly before her death. Mable was preceded in death by her husband Bill in 2012. She was also preceded in death by her parents, by brother Robert P. Wolff, sister Edith (Art) Cress, son Robert “Bob” Colgate, and nephew James “Jim” Frank. She is survived by daughters Sharon (Wayne) Wilson, Patricia (Jeff) Stuckey, Peggy Colgate, grandsons Robert Wilson, Brian Wilson, granddaughter Amy Stuckey, grandson Paul (Savanna) Stuckey, and great-grandson Marcus Stuckey, as well as numerous nieces and nephews and grand nieces and nephews. Mable’s wishes were for immediate cremation with no services. A memorial for friends and family will be held at a later date. Cremation is through Imperial Funeral Home, Pueblo (www.imperialfunerals.com). In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to your local Humane Society or Meals on Wheels organization, or to your local Public Broadcasting Station.