Kathryn Michael

Kathryn passed away Sept. 28, 2014 at the age of 88. A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, October 7, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, in Durango.
She was born Dec. 27, 1925 to Streeter and Luella Jones in Durango, CO. She was born in her grandmother’s (Rosetta Tunneson McElroy) rooming house which now houses the Durango Music Store on 2nd Avenue. The family lived on the Dryside for 3 years farming and ranching. They became lonesome for their families who still lived in Oklahoma, so they packed up and drove a truck and herded their cows on horseback back to the pan handle of Oklahoma. They stayed there for 9 years at which time the drought and sand storms sent them back to Colorado where they remained the rest or their lives. Kathryn went to elementary school at the Mountain View School and stayed there until 9th grade when she had to go to school in Marvel. She lived with her teacher during the week and went home on the weekends. For the remaining years she had to move to Durango and share an apartment with her dearest friend from Kline, Gladys Hubbs Davies, until graduation in 1944. They remained friends for 76 years.
On January 20th, 1947 she married Oliver Sherman Michael in Gallup, N.M. They lived back on the Dryside on Sherman’s folk’s homestead until 1960 when they moved to town because the schools changed and their children would have to ride the bus for hours. She went to work at Farmer’s Supply candling eggs with her dear friend, Gladys. They worked there until the egg business was discontinued. At that time she went to work at Grant’s Department store and stayed there until they went out of business. She then went to work at the City Market Bakery where she stayed until retirement.
One of her greatest joys was music and dancing. While on the Dryside the family lived in a one room house but there was still room for a piano. She would play the piano and Sherman would play the mandolin in the evenings until it was time for the Grand Ole Opry to start on the radio.
Kathryn was a very social person and had lots of friends. She would spend hours talking to them on the telephone. It was such a treat to have a telephone, electricity, running water and a heater that did not have to be started every morning. The house in Durango was 640 square feet and the family felt like it was huge compared to the one room house on the Dryside.
She and Sherman had stayed in Durango until 1995 when they decided to move to Aztec where the weather was less severe. She always considered Durango her home.
Kathryn’s husband of 66 years passed away on Jan. 30th, 2013. She was preceded in death by her parents, a sister Freda, and a brother Leonard, who was killed in WWII. Kathryn is survived by two children and their spouses, Merle and Debbie Michael of Mancos and Sharon and Greg Roth of Bayfield; two grandsons and their families, Gentry and Michelle Roth of Littleton, CO and Casey and Karli Raye Michael of Mancos. She is also survived by three great grandchildren, Ulani Mei Roth, Ayden Oliver Michael and Kimber Kathryn Michael and two nephews Donald and Kim Collins of Pagosa Springs and Haskell Collins Jr. of Sandy, Utah.