Opal P. Kalma…January 5, 1926 – November 20, 2103

            Funeral services for Opal (Mickey) Kalma will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 26, 2013 at Valley Memorial Funeral Chapel in Holly, Colorado.  Burial will follow in the Hartman Cemetery.  Visitation will be held from 1:00-7:00 p.m. on Monday, November 25, 2013 at Valley Memorial Funeral Chapel in Holly.

            Opal (Mickey) Kalma was born to Walter and Ethel Bronson on January 5, 1926 at Rush Center, KS.  When she was a young girl, the family moved to Fort Lyon, CO where she attended Rixey School and then school in Las Animas. 

            Mickey worked in Lamar and enjoyed time dancing.  She met Gerald Kalma at the Lake Side dance and the two became a couple.  On October 31, 1943 they were united in marriage in Syracuse, KS.  Mickey and Bill started a life together on the Kalma ranch north of Hartman, CO and to this union five children were born; Marjorie Jean, James Neil, Johnny Clinton, Jesse William, and Joel Dean.

            During her early years living at the ranch, Mickey drove a school bus for the Hartman School District.  In the late 50’s, they bought the Hartman Grocery store and ran it until the family moved to an 80 acre irrigated farm just north of Holly.  Shortly after, Mickey began a new career working at Scotty’s, Holly Lumber Company and then BMS in Holly and Lamar. She retired from BMS in 1991.

            Mickey’s first love was her family and then her yard.  She could raise any flower and tree from a drop of a seed or even transplanting.   Everything grew and obviously, she had a green thumb.  She enjoyed every minute in her yard. Her kids always said she should have lived in the Northwest where there was abundant rain and verdant foliage.

            Mickey helped her daughter at the Holly Laundry for several years and then decided that she had worked enough and it was time to stay home and tend to herself and enjoy her yard.  In the fall of 2011, she suffered a stroke and became a resident at the Holly Nursing Care Center where she resided until she passed away on November 20, 2013 at the age of 87.

            She is preceded in death by her parents, Walter and Ethel Bronson; husband, Bill Kalma; two infant brothers, and brother, Wilford Bronson; sister, Loretta Peek; granddaughter, Joann Hammit; and grandson, Jerry Kalma. 

            Mickey is survived by three sisters, Myrtle and Richard Roelli of Oregon City, OR, Luriene Johnston of Del Norte,CO, and Helen and Melvin Maudlin of Scottsburg, IN; five children, Jean and Norman Dorenkamp, Jim and Peggy Kalma, John and Linda Kalma, Jess and Tracie Kalma, and Joel and Andrea Kalma all of Holly,CO.  Mickey had 19 grandchildren, 29 great grandchildren and 3 great great grandchildren. She is survived by several nieces and nephews and a host of friends.

            Memorial contributions may be made in Mickey’s name to the Hartman Cemetery Improvement Fund in care of Valley Memorial Funeral Chapel, P.O. Box 950, Lamar, CO 81052.

            Funeral arrangements are under the care of Valley Memorial Funeral Chapel in Holly, CO.  For more information or to leave online condolences please visit www.valleymemorialfc.com.