Obituary for Catherine Dawn Crowder
Longtime Alamosa resident Catherine Dawn Crowder, 90, passed away peacefully at the San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center on July 25, 2019, surrounded by her family.
Dawn and her twin sister, Yvonne, were born on the John Thomas ranch in Gulnare, Colorado, on March 20, 1929, to Charles and Nona Thomas Brunelli. At birth, she and her twin each weighed three pounds and were the length of a butter knife. It was a miracle either of them survived. She grew up at the foot of the Spanish Peaks where she spent much of her time on the ranch with her dad. She could ride a horse and shoot a gun as well as any man. When she was a small child she was bitten by a rattlesnake, and thanks to her grandfather’s quick actions, she survived. After high school, she attended Adams State College where she earned a teaching degree and taught for two years at a small school near Aguilar. While at Adams State College she met the love of her life and married Roland Doyle Crowder on June 6, 1949, in the Methodist Church in Alamosa, Colorado, and they just celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary earlier this year.
Dawn and Roland made their home in Waverly at the Waverly school where Roland was the principal, custodian, and teacher. During this time they welcomed six children to the family. Dawn dedicated her life to raising their kids. Money was tight but she always made sure the kids had what they needed. Eventually they purchased the family farm where she resided until her death. She was a master gardener and canner, and much of the food her family ate she had raised and preserved. As well as being a homemaker, she had several different jobs including cooking at the Waverly School and helping Jim Higel and Art Goehl with running tickets for their auctions. She loved that job because she got to travel all over the valley and spend time outside. In her spare time she enjoyed puzzles, gambling with her kids and later her grandkids, and hosting Sunday dinners for her ever growing family. In her later years, she and Roland spent many winters in Bullhead City, Arizona, with the Codys and the Knapps, and she cherished this time with their friends.
She is survived by her husband Roland of Alamosa; her children Marjorie (John) Guyer of Wapello, Iowa, Lawrence Crowder, John (Karen) Crowder, Paul Crowder /(Patty- Pueblo), Stan (Jeannie) Crowder and Kathleen (Tim) Johnson, all of Alamosa, Colorado; 18 grandchildren, 42 great-grandchildren with one more on the way; and numerous nieces, nephews and extended family and friends.
Dawn is preceded in death by her parents Charles and Nona, her twin sister Yvonne Payne, her younger sister Bernice Rodosevich as well as their spouses.
A Visitation will be held from 5:00-7:00 pm Thursday, August 1st at the Rogers Family Mortuary in Alamosa. A Funeral Service will take place at 10:00 am Friday, August 2nd at the Alamosa Christian Reformed Church in Waverly with burial following in the Alamosa Cemetery.
Rogers Family Mortuary of Alamosa is in care of the arrangements. To leave online condolences, tributes and remarks for Dawn’s family, please visit www.RogersFunerals.com
Dawn and her twin sister, Yvonne, were born on the John Thomas ranch in Gulnare, Colorado, on March 20, 1929, to Charles and Nona Thomas Brunelli. At birth, she and her twin each weighed three pounds and were the length of a butter knife. It was a miracle either of them survived. She grew up at the foot of the Spanish Peaks where she spent much of her time on the ranch with her dad. She could ride a horse and shoot a gun as well as any man. When she was a small child she was bitten by a rattlesnake, and thanks to her grandfather’s quick actions, she survived. After high school, she attended Adams State College where she earned a teaching degree and taught for two years at a small school near Aguilar. While at Adams State College she met the love of her life and married Roland Doyle Crowder on June 6, 1949, in the Methodist Church in Alamosa, Colorado, and they just celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary earlier this year.
Dawn and Roland made their home in Waverly at the Waverly school where Roland was the principal, custodian, and teacher. During this time they welcomed six children to the family. Dawn dedicated her life to raising their kids. Money was tight but she always made sure the kids had what they needed. Eventually they purchased the family farm where she resided until her death. She was a master gardener and canner, and much of the food her family ate she had raised and preserved. As well as being a homemaker, she had several different jobs including cooking at the Waverly School and helping Jim Higel and Art Goehl with running tickets for their auctions. She loved that job because she got to travel all over the valley and spend time outside. In her spare time she enjoyed puzzles, gambling with her kids and later her grandkids, and hosting Sunday dinners for her ever growing family. In her later years, she and Roland spent many winters in Bullhead City, Arizona, with the Codys and the Knapps, and she cherished this time with their friends.
She is survived by her husband Roland of Alamosa; her children Marjorie (John) Guyer of Wapello, Iowa, Lawrence Crowder, John (Karen) Crowder, Paul Crowder /(Patty- Pueblo), Stan (Jeannie) Crowder and Kathleen (Tim) Johnson, all of Alamosa, Colorado; 18 grandchildren, 42 great-grandchildren with one more on the way; and numerous nieces, nephews and extended family and friends.
Dawn is preceded in death by her parents Charles and Nona, her twin sister Yvonne Payne, her younger sister Bernice Rodosevich as well as their spouses.
A Visitation will be held from 5:00-7:00 pm Thursday, August 1st at the Rogers Family Mortuary in Alamosa. A Funeral Service will take place at 10:00 am Friday, August 2nd at the Alamosa Christian Reformed Church in Waverly with burial following in the Alamosa Cemetery.
Rogers Family Mortuary of Alamosa is in care of the arrangements. To leave online condolences, tributes and remarks for Dawn’s family, please visit www.RogersFunerals.com