Margaret Ptolemy

Longtime resident, Margaret Carpenter Ptolemy, died at her family home in Durango on May 18, 2014. She was one month shy of her 98th birthday. Margaret C. Ptolemy was born on June 21, 1916 in Cortez, Colorado to N. E. Carpenter and Clara Kelly Carpenter, where she spent her childhood and graduated from Cortez High School in 1934. She attended the University of Colorado on an academic scholarship, graduating with degrees in dietetics and education. After her graduation from CU she took her internship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor from 1938-39. Her life-long dream was to live and work in New York City, so after leaving Ann Arbor she moved to New York where she worked as a dietician at St. Luke’s Hospital for two years before returning to Ann Arbor, Michigan to teach student nurses dietetics.
While working at University Hospital in Ann Arbor, she married her childhood sweetheart, Roger A. Ptolemy. Roger had just graduated from Officers Training School at the University of Michigan and had received his orders to ship out to the South Pacific as a naval officer. Margaret and Roger A. Ptolemy were married on January 22, 1944 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. While Roger was in the service during the World War II, Margaret returned to Boulder, Colorado to live with her sister. While in Boulder she took a job at the University of Colorado as a dietician in charge of feeding 500 Navy Cadets and the football team.
In 1946, after the end of the war, Roger and Margaret Ptolemy moved to Durango, where the couple owned and operated La Plata Abstract Company and Colorado Land Title Company. They had six children, four of whom still live in Durango, and two of them whom still run the family business. In addition to running the household, Mrs. Ptolemy was involved in many organizations and also served on several Boards, including the San Juan County Health Department, Fort Lewis College Foundation and the Board of Directors for The First National Bank, Cortez, a bank that her father had helped to establish. She was a member for over 60 years and a past president of PEO Chapter BR and a founding member of the Reading Club. She was also a member of the First United Methodist Church.
Mrs. Ptolemy was a very inquisitive individual and had numerous interests and hobbies. She often described herself as a “jack of all trades, master of none.” Some of her many interests included, gardening, raising fish, teaching, traveling, writing and art work of all genres. Out of all these interests, she was most passionate about art and helped establish the first Durango Art Association, which is now the Durango Arts Center. At the age of 42, while pregnant with child number 6, Margaret enrolled in an evening art class at Fort Lewis College and she continued to take various art classes well into her late 80’s. In July, 2001, Mrs. Ptolemy hosted a party at her long time Durango residence with many of her various art pieces on display. Long-time friend and editor of the Durango Herald, Morley Ballantine, wrote an editoral about this party that appeared in the July 31, 2001 issue of the Durango Herald. It was described as a “pre-funeral party.” And, so it was.
Margaret C. Ptolemy was a philanthropist having made numerous donations to various charities and establishing a scholarship fund at the University of Colorado for graduate students. She touched many lives during her almost 98 years of life and anyone who knew her can attest to the fact that she was “quite a character.” She was truly an extraordinary woman. She is survived by five of her six children, Roger K. Ptolemy (Andrea Ptolemy, deceased), Mary Clara Patterson (Dan Patterson), Robert W. Ptolemy (Andrea Ptolemy), Catherine P. Hollingsworth (James Hollingsworth), all three of Durango, and Margaret (Peggy) P. Roth of Parker, Colorado. She is also survived by three grandchildren, Brian Hollingsworth, Kimberly C. Hollingsworth and Caitlin C. Roth. She was preceded in death by her husband of over 50 years, Roger A. Ptolemy, and her oldest child, Susan V. Ptolemy. A memorial service to celebrate her long life will be held later this summer. Memorial donations may be made to the Durango Arts Center, 802 East 2nd Avenue, Durango and the Margaret C. Ptolemy Scholarship Fund at the University of Colorado Foundation, P.O. Box 17126, Denver, CO 80217-9155.