Thella BigLeggins

Thella Beth Howell-BigLeggins, 45, enrolled member of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Pawnee, Southern Cheyenne, passed away Monday, December 2, 2013 at Mercy Regional Medical Center in Durango, Colo. A Funeral Service will be held Thursday, December 5, 2013 at 11:00 a.m. at the Ignacio Maranatha Baptist Church in Ignacio, Pastor Kelly Winlock will be officiating. A wake will be held on Wednesday, December 4, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. at the Southern Ute Multi-Purpose Gathering Room. Burial will occur at Ouray Memorial Cemetery in Ignacio, Colo. Mrs. Howell-BigLeggins was born on November 6, 1968 in Durango, Colo., the daughter of George Elton Howell, Sr. and the beloved Betty Lou Weaver Howell. Thella grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah and attended schools in Oklahoma, South Dakota, Idaho, Utah and Colorado. She graduated from Wagner High School in Wagner, S.D. in 1987, where she was in the marching band. While pursuing her higher education at the University of South Dakota, she continued to participate in the marching band. She also attended school at Oglala-Lakota College in Pine Ridge, S. D. She received her associate's degree from the Denver Technical College in Colorado Springs, Colo. during the 1990's. Later in 2012, she attended Pueblo Community College in Durango, Colo. studying Radiology. Thella's work career began with working at a grocery store called Sioux Nation in Pine Ridge, S. D. She also worked as a medical office assistant in Colorado Springs, Colo. Upon moving to Ignacio in 1999, she was a caregiver to her mother, the beloved Betty Lou Weaver Howell, until her passing in 2008. She worked at the Multi-Purpose Facility in Ignacio from 2012 until her death. Thella met her first husband, Calvin Monroe in 1989 in Pine Ridge, S. D. and shortly thereafter, they were married. They had three daughters together. She encouraged them all in their educational endeavors and taught them all how to traditional dance. She inspired each of them to be strong, intelligent and beautiful. Later on in life, she met and married Roy BigLeggins. They lived in Ignacio. They enjoyed watching movies and traveling. They never liked to stay home. They went to Denver, "just for the ride" and being together was what they enjoyed doing the most. She is survived by Roy BigLeggins (husband) of Wolfpoint, Mont., Kelsi L'u Beth Monroe (daughter) , Kayleen Chrystine Monroe (daughter), Jazmynn Rae Howell (daughter) all of Ignacio, Colo. George Elton Howell, Sr. (father) of Pawnee, Okla., George Elton Howell, Jr. (brother) of Ignacio, Colo., Kenneth Leroy Howell (brother) of Oklahoma City, Okla., Clarice BigLeggins (mother-in-law), Dewayne BigLeggins (father-in-law), Christopher Follette (brother-in-law) all of Wolfpoint, Mont., as well as various aunts, uncles and cousins of Colorado and other extended family in Oklahoma and Montana. She was preceded in death by Betty Lou Weaver Howell (mother), George Howell, Jr. (grandfather), Thelma Stoneroad (grandmother), Robert Buck Weaver (grandfather), Ella Washington Weaver (grandmother), Bernice Turntoes (grandmother-in-law) and Eugene BigLeggins (uncle-in-law) and various aunts and uncles.