Long time Estes Park resident, Carolyn Howard passed away Monday February 6, 2023, one month short of her 93rd birthday.  She died peacefully surrounded by the love of her family and had the opportunity for each member of the family to express their love and feelings before she departed. Her daughter, granddaughter and her granddaughter’s husband were at her side at Balfour Senior Living in Louisville.

She was born on a farm in Niwot, Colorado on March 19, 1930, to Marshall Field Sherman and Clara Pearl Harvey Sherman. She is survived by her brother Ron, her sister-in-law Geneva, her daughter Kristi, her son David, her daughter in-laws Leslie, Cynthia, six grandchildren Angie, Kim, Ryan, John, Michael, Alisa and three great grandchildren Laura, Lucy, and Aspen Rose. She is proceeded in death by her parents, her husband Joe, her brother Duane, her brother Don and her son Roger. 

Carolyn stressed throughout her life, the power of kindness and the love of family. She felt the connection with family from her first day in this world. Her father’s sister (Aunt Amy) had to come over to the farm in a horse drawn wagon to help with her delivery. Years later Carolyn would need Aunt Amy to write and certify the details of her birth so that she could obtain a birth certificate. Carolyn spent her first thirteen years on the farm in Niwot. She loved farm life and the freedom that being young in a small town provided. She loved the walks down the streets of Niwot to her mom’s sisters’ house for piano lessons and the conversation that was always part of each experience she had in life. Niwot had a small one room schoolhouse that combined grades in their classrooms. Carolyn found it wonderful being related to most every student in every grade. This provided a family connection for her entire life when she and her cousins grew older.

Carolyn, moved with her family to Estes Park when she was thirteen, so that her father could work on the Adams tunnel. Her family house was right off the river and they enjoyed many meals of fresh fish for dinner. This is where she began her lifelong love the of the outdoors. She loved hearing the sound of the stream through her bedroom window, and seeing the elk around their home and in Rocky Mountain National Park. This house she grew up in was sadly washed away in the 1982 Long Lake flood. Carolyn graduated from Estes Park High School in 1948 and moved to Denver to attend and graduate Secretarial Business School.

In 1950 she met Joseph Eugene Howard on a blind date and fell in love. They soon married at the downtown Presbyterian Church in Estes Park which is now called the Church Shops. Joe and Carolyn moved to Denver to start their lives together. They had three children Roger, David, and Kristi.

In 1956 they created Joe Howard Construction, a building and remodeling company. This family ran business would become locally and nationally known and serve the greater Denver area for seven decades. In 1959 they built a new home on East Mexico Street that they would live and raise their family in.

Carolyn loved the construction business. Managing the day to day, the finances, the marketing were tasks that gave her joy. Anyone could ask her at any time the financial condition of the company and she could give the exact amount of business that was occurring, what the bank balances were and what was in the pipeline. She and her husband Joe and later with their son Roger and his wife, loved to go to Industry Shows. They would come back from each conference and together determine what one idea they were going to implement to better the company.

Carolyn’s time was filled with full time work within the remodeling company, being a mother of three, and an active member of her church. Her faith, her family and her friends were the three things that brought her the most joy. She and Joe made sure the family stayed connected and involved with their greater families. We celebrated every holiday with family throughout the years and her house was always filled with love and laughter. Carolyn and her sister in-law Geneva made a tradition of having their children spend time together. Roger and David would go up to the Ranch and Lynn would come down and stay in the city each year. This provided the opportunity to build a relationship between the cousins. Each of them feeling the others mom was their second mother.

Carolyn was always involved with her spiritual life. She was active in the churches she became a member of. The activities may have varied but being together with like minded people to have fun, talk, and spend time together was always something she enjoyed. As she and Joe became members of the Religious Science of the Mind Church, they jumped in with both feet. They work within the church to help teach, counsel and grow to be practitioners. This lead mom later in life to have study groups in her home.

Carolyn’s husband Joe passed away suddenly in 1989. She continued to work in and manage the Remodeling company for several years with her son Roger. Soon retirement sounded like the thing to do, and she decided that moving back to Estes Park was the perfect retirement idea. She then searched and found the perfect home that allowed her to move back to Estes Park, in 1994 where she enjoyed the crisp mountain air and the sound of the elk bugle. This is the home that her family and grandchildren have lasting memories of her and the wonderful family holidays together. As a retiree Carolyn made a point to spend time alone with each of her grandchildren. She wanted to have a close connection and special experiences with each of them. During those special times and years of this tradition she developed a bond that you can only dream of between her and each grandchild. She understood each of them as individuals, their strengths, their weaknesses, their dreams and goals. She listened, laughed, played and taught them how to enjoy who they were. She continued her support of each of them throughout their lives.

Carolyn was involved within her neighborhood and the Old Timers Club in Estes. Many of her neighbors she grew to love as family and with them as neighbors she never felt alone even though she lived alone. The Old Timers club were individuals that had graduated from Estes Park High School during the same period as she had. They had regular coffee meetings and then out to diner each month. Carolyn had a weekly spiritual study group that met in her home for over ten years. Where they had to have coffee and cookies and time to visit during their meetings. She loved the mountains, the walk around Lily Lake and the beauty that surrounded her house. She lived happily in Estes Park until 2019 when her health demanded that she move to an assisted living facility, Balfour Senior Living, in Louisville, CO.

She will be missed by all who knew and loved her warm and friendly smile. Her genuine care for all those around her can still be felt. She was a beloved wife, mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, and great grandmother who constantly provided love, warmth, and generosity to all who crossed her path.

She will be celebrated in a memorial service at 11 am. this coming Saturday, February 18, 2023, at Columbine Unity Spiritual Center, 8900 East Arapahoe Road, Boulder, CO.

 

Services

She will be celebrated in a memorial service at 11 am. this coming Saturday, February 18, 2023, at Columbine Unity Spiritual Center, 8900 East Arapahoe Road, Boulder, CO.

 

Cemetery

None

Location

None

Church

Columbine Spiritual Center | Map

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