Gula Ruth Adams…August 11, 1922 – February 15, 2016

Funeral services for Gula Adams will be held on Saturday, February 20, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. at the United Methodist Church in Las Animas, Colorado. Pastor Mark Cloer will officiate. Interment will follow at the Bent/Las Animas Cemetery. Visitation will be held Friday, February 19, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Horber Funeral Chapel in Las Animas, Colorado.

Gula Ruth Stough was born on August 11, 1922 to Frederick and Inez (Blake) Stough in Las Animas, Colorado and passed away on February 15, 2016 at her home in Las Animas, Colorado at the age of 93.

Gula was a self-described “drylander”, spending most of her life in the Las Animas area where her parents were both very successful business owners. She attended the Pinehill School South of town. After graduation, Gula attended Friends University in Wichita, Kansas and graduated from the Cliff Man School of Floral Design. In 1947, Gula took over the Stough’s Flower Shop from her mother, much more than a business to her. She loved her flower shop, and ran it very successfully until her retirement in 2013.

On December 12, 1943, Gula married Ernest “Peter” Jerman, Jr. Unfortunately this marriage only lasted 18 months. Peter, a pilot for the United States Air Force, was shot down while flying over France during WWII. On November 30, 1949, Gula married Lloyd Adams and together they enjoyed 49 years of matrimony.

Throughout her life, Gula was a very active participant in the community. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a former Grand Officer in Rainbow, Worthy Matron and Grand Ruth in Eastern Star, Grand Officers State Eastern Star, a member of the PEO Branch B, a former chamber board member, was named “Business Person of the Year”, and served on the Board of Directors for Bent’s Fort Inn. She was an avid supporter of the youth in the community. Donating flowers, monies, her time, and she and her late husband Lloyd Adams, even purchased a beautiful 1972 convertible Buick to be entered into the Santa Fe Trail Day Parade each year. Gula had a lifelong love for animals and shared her time and home with many throughout the years.

Gula is survived by her niece, Teresa Ratzlaff-Medina; great nephews, Fred Ratzlaff, Jace Ratzlaff; great niece, Holly Ratzlaff; great-great nieces, Jayla Ratzlaff, Acelynn Ratzlaff, Jorji Ratzlaff, Kristina, Ratzlaff, Ariel Vasquez; and great-great nephew, Hunter Ratzlaff.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Fred and Inez (Blake) Stough; first husband, Peter Jerman; late husband, Lloyd Adams; brothers, Dwight Stough, Warren Stough; and sister, Elva Tull.

Memorial contributions may be made to Sangre de Cristo Hospice or the PEO Chapter B in care of Horber Funeral Chapel, P.O. Box 431, Las Animas, CO 81054.

For more information, or to leave online condolences, please visit http://www.horberfuneralchapel.com/