Elsie Phelps Obituary

Durango resident Elsie Lillian Phelps died Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010, at Four Corners Health Care Center in Durango. She

was 97.

Mrs. Phelps was born to John and Mary Phelps on Aug. 15, 1912, in Kline.

On Dec 26, 1930, she married Archie George Phelps in Durango. After they were married, they moved to White Water, N.M.,

where they planned to find work. It was the beginning of the Great Depression, and they had to move back to La Plata

County for several years. They lived in a tent while Mr. Phelps worked at the Vallecito Dam.

The Phelpses had five boys, all born at home.  Once the dam was finished, they moved to California, where Mrs.

Phelps worked as a riveter on planes during World War II.

The couple bought a cabin at Ben Springs, which is located between Durango and Bayfield, a place Mrs. Phelps always

referred to as her home place. The cabin has been well cared for and continues to be a Phelps family landmark to this

day.

In 1947, the Phelps family bought and moved to a ranch in Allison, but they were unable to maintain the ranch when Mr.

Phelps broke his leg in a logging accident. He had several surgeries to repair the damaged limb, but they were

unsuccessful. His injuries made it difficult for him to perform his normal day-to-day duties, so the couple traded the

cows from their ranch in Allison for their home in Bayfield.

To support her family, Mrs. Phelps took any job she could find. Her jobs included working at Gambles and Levine's in

Durango and cleaning homes for $1 an hour. She also assisted many ranchers in the Pine River Valley by bucking bales,

driving tractors, cooking for ranch hands and cleaning out horse stalls. Mrs. Phelps helped deliver both babies and

livestock as needed.

One of her favorite stories was the doctoring of a sick cow using whiskey as medicine. Mrs. Phelps believed whiskey was

a cure-all.

Mr. Phelps later found a job working as a custodian for the Bayfield School District. Mrs. Phelps and their son Arvin

would help him finish cleaning in the evenings because of the pain he suffered in his injured leg.

Mrs. Phelps was known for her hunting as well as the cleaning of animals she got. The family relied on the meat from

hunting to survive.

“Elsie was a canning fanatic," her family wrote. “She would can everything from vegetables grown in her garden, to

deer, elk or fish. One of Elsie's favorite pastimes was maintaining her immaculate garden; she also loved God, friends

and family with a passion matched by few."

Mrs. Phelps was preceded in death by her husband of almost 49 years, Archie Phelps; all five sons, Archie Phelps Jr.,

Bill Phelps, Dave Phelps, Arvin Phelps and Orval Phelps; and great-grandsons Richard Mullenberg and Kevin

Mullenberg.

She is survived by her sisters Sadie Robertshaw and Mildred Borders, both of Phoenix; 19 grandchildren; 42

great-grandchildren; 21 great-great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews

A service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 3, 2010, at Hood Mortuary Chapel. Burial will follow at Florida

Cemetery, which is located next to the Florida Mesa Presbyterian Church at 1024 County Road 230.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to the Pine River Seniors, c/o Bayfield Town Hall, 11 W. Mill

St., Bayfield, CO 81122.