Dolores Hemphill…March 19, 1931 – August 23, 2013

Graveside services for life-long Bent County resident, Dolores Hemphill will be held at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at the McClave Cemetery. Pastor Calob Rundell of the McClave United Methodist Church will officiate. Visitation will be held from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Monday, August 26, 2013 at Horber Funeral Chapel, Las Animas, Colorado. 

Dolores Hemphill passed away on August 23, 2013 in her home in Las Animas, Colorado at the age of 82.  A native Coloradoan and life-long resident of Bent County, Dolores was born on March 19, 1931 at her family’s homestead near McClave, Colorado to James Aura and Vesta Louise (Morlan) Mick.  She was the older of two children.  Dolores attended Horse Creek and McClave schools and graduated from McClave High School in 1949.

Dolores married Clifford “Gene” Eugene Hemphill in an outdoor ceremony on her family’s farm near Gageby Creek on June 11, 1950.  Dolores and Gene had four children: Philip Kent, Danny Robert, Randall Eugene and Janie Louise. 

Dolores worked 18 years at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital at Fort Lyon.  She served as ward clerk, dietetic aide, clothing clerk, and secretary in Pharmacy Services.  She retired from federal service in 1984. Since then, she has owned and managed 16 apartments and 12 single-family properties in Las Animas.

Dolores avidly supported all activities to keep local history alive. She loved regional history and encouraged this awareness in her children, grandchildren and friends.  She was a long-time member of the Pioneer Historical Society and looked forward to reading her Bent County Chronicle. 

Dolores had a kind and generous heart and gave homes to many astray.  She was loved by all who knew her and she is greatly missed.  She is survived by her brother, Robert (Rosalee) Mick of Delta, Colorado; her children, Philip (Doris) of Hasty, Colorado, Danny (Nancy) of Broomfield, Colorado, Randy (Kay) of Las Animas, Colorado, and Janie (Don) Miller of Las Animas, Colorado; grandchildren, Sarah (Andrew) Huffman of Las Animas, Colorado, Joshua (Julie) Miller of Houston, Texas, Alex (Deanna) Miller of Woodland Park, Colorado, Ryan (Teale) Hemphill of Hasty, Colorado, Clinton (Jennifer) Hemphill of Hasty, Colorado, Aaron (Terri) Meyer of Greeley, Colorado, Joseph (Carmen) Meyer of Denver, Colorado, and Bobby Meyer of Las Animas, Colorado; 16 great grandchildren; many other relatives and a host of friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Louise and J.A. Mick; husband, Gene; daughter-in-law, Christine (Travis) Hemphill and a great granddaughter, Hope Noel Huffman.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to The Pioneer Historical Society of Bent County, P.O. Box 68, Las Animas, CO 81054.

Funeral services for Dolores Hemphill are under the direction of Horber Funeral Chapel, Las Animas, CO. For more information or to leave online condolences visit www.horberfuneralchapel.com.