Grandma Marlene

I thought I would take a minute to compile a few of the photos that we have of Grandma Marlene from over the years. 

Grandma Marlene contracted Covid last November, and she passed rather quickly. She had spent the last several months of her life in near-isolation at the Crook County Long Term Care facility where she moved in the fall of 2017. Margie was able to go into the facility and visit with her in the last days of her life, as was Margie's sister Dana. I personally last visited with her (I believe) over the 4th of July weekend in 2019, but Cory may have slipped in another visit when he and the kids were able to visit Sundance over Labor Day weekend that year. I will always remember Marlene fondly. She was incredibly warm and welcoming to me when I joined the family, and she was always so kind to the kids--and famously showered them with trinkets and gifts, notably many of their best cowgirl boots came from Great-Grandma Marlene.

Here's what I know about the last few days: I sent Grandma a little package in the days leading up to Halloween, and she called me on that Monday (Nov. 2) following Halloween to give a "Thank You." Her voice was cheerful, and she was animated on the phone call. I said, "You were supposed to get that BEFORE Halloween," and she laughed and said, "I don't really care!" We chatted a bit, and by this point, Cory had learned a day or two earlier that a few of the staff at the facility had tested positive. When I said goodbye, she told me that a few folks had tested positive, and I told her to Take Care, and that was the last time we talked. By Wednesday (Nov. 4, 2020) we had heard that Marlene had tested positive, and we got a few updates from Margie after she was able to visit her in the facility. Ultimately, she passed on Nov. 10th.

An obituary can be seen here, and I've cut and paste it for preservation below: 

Marlene Cooper, 86 of Sundance, Wyoming passed away Tuesday, November 10, 2020 at Crook County Long Term Care Center.

Marlene was born November 13, 1933 along with her twin brother Marvin Snook to Leonard and Martha Snook near Crawford, Nebraska. When Marlene was four years old the Snook family moved to Crook County where she lived the rest of her life. She graduated from Sundance High School in 1952. Marlene worked as a bookkeeper for Tri-County Electric, now Powder River Energy, for many years. After retirement, she and her partner Jim Brown ran the Carlie Store for over 20 years. Marlene enjoyed playing cards with family and friends, feeding the birds and watching football on television.

Marlene is survived by three daughters; Marjorie (Alan) Harper of Sundance, Dana (Bruce) Porter of Alliance, NE and Nancy Cooper of Great Falls, MT, five grandchildren; Cory (Jayme) Harper of Ft. Collins, CO, Lexie (Jon) Goodman of Cheyenne, WY, Lacey (Devon) Petersen of Fort Collins, CO, Michael (Lexi) Salazar and Donald (Kasey) Salazar both of Belle Fourche, SD, six great-granddaughters; Scout Harper, Ruby Harper, Ella Goodman, Addison Goodman, Shyloh Salazar and Oakley Salazar, three great-grandsons; Nathan, Tegan and Hunter Salazar, two sisters-in-law, Shirley Anderson and Jance Snook and many much loved nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by a son, Gene Robert Taylor, her parents, Leonard and Martha Snook, three brothers; Leonard “Jones” Snook, Robert Snook and twin brother, Marvin Snook, her partner, Jim Brown, niece, Martha Snook and nephew, Melvin Snook.

A memorial has been established to benefit Crook County Long Term Care Center.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.

Arrangements are under the care of Fidler-Roberts & Isburg Funeral Chapel of Sundance.

Online condolences may be written at www.fidler-isburgfuneralchapels.com

A few from 2021

 We were able to do a few fun things recently, but here's the general update:

2021 started with a "bang" with all of the national news (Jan 6th violence at the Capitol and President Joe Biden's inauguration on Jan 20th, and there were also some very deadly days for the coronavirus and as of the writing of this page there have been over 500,000 US deaths attributed to the coronavirus), but we continue to be plugging along from the safety of our warm home in Fort Collins. As of this writing, the grandparents are well on their way to receiving vaccines (I know that Papa Matty has already had his two doses), the kids are still working hard at virtual school and we are largely hanging close to home due to weather this time of year, but occasionally we've had some really pretty days.  

Here are some recent gratitudes:

• the flexibility of virtual school allows us to have more relaxed mornings and it can mean that if kids get their work done, we can walk the dogs together in the afternoons sometimes
• on nice days, we can get outside and enjoy the foothills and our community
• we live in an incredible neighborhood, full of friendly faces
• Lacey and Devon moved to Fort Collins last November, so we have been able to see them occasionally
• (not pictured) we have been enjoying the occasional drives just to get out of the house, and we often listen to the Office Ladies podcast, this is a "re-watch" podcast where two of the actresses who starred in the series go back through the episodes and tell behind-the-scenes stories about each episode. The kids and I love it!

Ruby and Scout walking the dogs

Ruby is pampering herself with a face mask

Lacey and Devon organized a doggy birthday party for Laverne

Laverne and Porter

Scout, Cory, Ruby, Lexie, Addy and Ella

Photo by Devon: (L to R) Laverne, Scout, Cory, Jayme, Ruby, Ella, Addy, Lexie, Lacey and Cathy (Devon's mom) 

Dogs in the foreground, a bunch of geese in the cul de sac

For MLK day, we lined the street with luminaries--this was a huge neighborhood effort. Neighbor Kate set a lot of it up with Kathy, and then I helped to clean things up with Cory and Ana. It was pretty chilly, but we met up in the cul de sac at 6:30 that night and "marched" down the street, then Scout read a book (at Shelley's encouragement) for all of us before we dispersed. This whole effort was partly encouraged by the city, because normally there would have been a parade from Old Town Square to CSU's Lory Student Center, but that wasn't held this year. So, the city offered luminary supplies, but we gathered additional supplies as well. 

On a nice Sunday morning (actually, it was Superbowl Sunday), we took the kids to Devil's Backbone down in Loveland, and we took a little hike in the sunshine. Ruby was less into it... but we all did okay! 

Scout's birthday 2020

 We have a teenager.

What do you do when a kid becomes a "Quaran-teen"? 

Well, we ordered alpacas. And it was so much fun. We told very few people, given the nature of the pandemic and caution about gathering. But we contacted a local alpaca farm that we were familiar with and asked if they would "deliver". Essentially, this husband and wife team (Eric and Laura) like to offer these animals for events and education opportunities. When we saw these guys, it was mere days before their summer shearing, so they were literally fluffy walking pillows. 

Cory helped me hang the banner

Her favorite: bagels

Start the day with a scavenger hunt for presents that I hid throughout the neighbors' yards

Ruby made Scout the world's cutest Office collage, and the sign behind her is an Office reference

This cool sweatshirt came from Grandma and Grandpa, a nod to one of Scout's favorite shows: The Good Place

Cory talks with Laura and Eric from Sunrise Silhouettes

Our friend Ella came over on her bike to see the alpacas

We also told the neighbors about the animals

Kathy and Dick enjoying the alpacas

In this picture, you can see Jack on the far right, Zoe in front of the fence and Kate behind her

The girls eventually helped keep the animals tethered while Eric and Laura were packing up the corral

Here you can see Christy Armstrong and her kids Zoe and Dax, with Grandpa Dick right behind

It's hard to see in this photo, but there's a cake topper that says "It Is Your Birthday" with a Dwight Schrute head cut-out

The big present from mom & dad was the iPad 

The girl requested sushi for her birthday

Candles on her cake

And the best part was that we kept it a surprise from Scout, so when the time came, we invited her to walk out into the front yard, only to be met with these alpacas in a little corral beneath the ash tree in our front yard. You can catch a bit of her surprise in this video. In the video, you can hear Laura introducing the alpacas: (I think they were) Comet, Elvis and Zappa

All in all, a pretty good birthday for a weird pandemic birthday