MSGT (RET) Alejandro (Alex) Antonio Martinez, of Denver, Colo., passed away Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, at the age of 85 at Veterans Home Fitzsimons in Denver, Colo.

Longtime Monte Vista resident Ray Warren Berry, 85, died June 4, 2023, at the River Valley Inn Nursing Home in Del Norte, Colo.

Mary Ann Messick passed away May 21, 2023, in Tucson, Ariz., a month shy of her 92nd birthday. She was born June 20, 1931, in Monte Vista, Colo., to Leto and Lorna LaJune Scott Kehler, the fifth of eight children.

John Edgar McDaniel, Jr., long-time Adams State professor and philanthropist, passed away on May 2, 2023. He was born Oct. 10, 1932, in Decatur, Texas, the son of John Edgar McDaniel and Vivian Randolph McDaniel.

Longtime Center resident Sadie Marie Skeff passed away on April 28, 2023, in Center, Colo. She lived her life devoted to her church, her family and her community.

Longtime Bayfield resident, Ruth Blanche (Dye) Pope, died April 13, 2023, at Mercy Hospice House in Durango, Colo. She was 77 years old.

Sally Bills Peck, 80, of Del Norte, Colo., passed away on April 5, 2023.

John Dale Velasquez passed away at the Washington Oddfellows Nursing Home in Walla Walla, Wash., on Jan. 8, 2023. He was one day shy of his 91st birthday.

Garry Lee Gustafson of Monte Vista, Colo., passed away of natural causes in his home at the Homelake Veterans Center on Saturday, April 22. He was 78 at the time of his death.

Arnulfo Bolaños-Mateo (El Paisa), 76, of Center, Colo., was born on Sept. 8, 1946, in Los Angeles, Michoacan, Mexico, and passed away on April 21, 2023, in Colorado Springs surrounded by his family.

Kennie Ann Still, 79, of Ft. Collins, daughter of Kenneth Hocker and Dorothy (Milner) Ellithorpe, died in the early morning of April 8, 2023, after suffering with Vascular Dementia. Her husband, Doug Still, along with her daughter Jennifer Hurley and son Christopher Still were by her side to help ease her passing.

John Ardeth Wardell died peacefully at UC Memorial Hospital North in Colorado Springs on April 3, 2023.

Rev. Armin F. Stolp, 93, of Canon City, Colo., was called to his eternal home with his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ on March 14, 2023. Armin was born in Greenleaf, Kan., on March 11, 1930; the first of five children born to Rev. Theodore Stolp and his wife Lisette (VonLehe) Stolp.

Gladys Eilene Duncan, 98, passed away peacefully on March 24, 2023, at River Valley Rehabilitation Healthcare Center. Her daughter Judy was by her side.

Monte Vista resident Nancy Lee (Rice) Stoeber passed away on March 22, 2023, in Del Norte, Colo., surrounded by family and friends.

Monte Vista resident Donna L. Avara, 84, passed away on March 8, 2023, in Monte Vista, Colo. She was born on June 10, 1938, in Bowen, Colo., to Ronald and Lilly (Anderson) Iske. She married Richard Wesley Avara on Feb. 18, 1984, in Monte Vista.

Creede resident Tracy Shay Trow, 55, passed away with her family by her side March 9, 2023, of liver failure, at San Luis Regional Medical Center, Alamosa, Colo.

Longtime Valley resident Beverly Jean Francis, 76, passed away on March 14, 2023. She was born on July 12, 1946, in Kansas City, Mo., to Ira Mose and Helen Catherine (Llewelyn) Francis. She married Gerald “Jerry” Robinson.

Longtime Manassa resident Sharon Sowards, 84, died March 9, 2023, at the San Luis Valley Health Regional Medical Center in Alamosa.

On Friday, March 10, 2023, Marilyn Joyce (Sawyer) Davey, loving wife, mother, and longtime resident of the San Luis Valley passed away at the age of 73. Marilyn was born to Derrell and Ruth Sawyer in Lamar, Colo.