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Obituary for Rosalie J. Lay
Rosalie, age 88 of Littleton, Colorado.
Our mother, Rosalie Lay was born in Ault, CO to Arthur and Margaret Curry. She has an older brother, Frank Horn who she worshipped and he adored her as well. Her father was a car salesman, that was a difficult profession back in those days, so they moved around quite a bit. She lived in Trinidad, Littleton, and Englewood where they eventually owned a small grocery store and this is where she found her love for butter. Her father used to tease her, "I can't wait until you have to buy your own butter!". This is a memory she always held onto. A particular favorite memory for mom was her brother would drive her to and from school on the front of his motorcycle. I believe that was the beginning of her love affair for motorcycles. She also loved to dance, she took tap lessons and actually had an opportunity to dance once with Donald O Conner. She had a dream of trying out for the Rockettes.
She went to college in Texas, and University of Northern Colorado, after which she married our father Ken Lay. She was told she could never have children, nobody ever told mom she could not do anything, so she proceeded to produce 5 children: Kenny, Danny, Julie, Mike, and Janet. She also has 8 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.
In the early 1960s, our mom and Aunt Jo decided they wanted to buy season bronco tickets. In order to do that, they needed an income. They sold wigs and bras out of their home, and they must have done well because they supported their Broncos for several years and mom has her season tickets to this day. Mom was able to go to 3 games this past season. Mom loved her Broncos from the beginning, in the early days she took a class at DU to understand the game. She would wait for hours before the games to get signatures on a very special coat she has. It is quite a sight to behold, from Red Miller to Demaryius Thomas. One of the most fun memories of Mom was when John Elway was in a restaurant we were at. Mom drove over with jacket in hand, she got to shake his hand and get his signature. She said she would never wash that hand again. If you have seen our moms house, you would see it literally is a Bronco shrine and a good portion is John Elway pictures. Mom worked most of her adult life. She began working at Sabin Elementary school. From there she worked at doctor's offices, Lloyds Furs, but her most favorite was the European Health Spas. She loved helping people feel good about themselves before it was popular to workout. She then went to work for the Department of Housing at Ft. Logan, helping adults with disabilities get independent housing. Mom usually held 2 jobs at a time. She worked nights and weekends at Pinehurst Country Club, Columbine Country Club, and the North Woods Inn. She decided she would rather be behind the bar so she graduated from bartending school and worked for 17 years at the Casual Lounge. These jobs paid for moms love of traveling and scuba diving. She would take diving trips by herself as well as with her best friend Helen as well as her family. One of her favorite places was a place in Mexico called Akumal. Mom found that little slice of heaven in 1978 and went every year for many many years. As mom began to have health issues, physically she was not what she once was but her strong spirit never died. She had caregivers who she adored and she shared her fighting spirit right up until the time of her transition. Mom will always be the strongest, kindest and most amazing woman we will ever have the pleasure of knowing. I believe I can speak for all the siblings when I say we were blessed to have her as a mother and her physical presence will be greatly missed in all of our lives.
The family would like to announce that it will be a Bronco themed service and reception. Blue and orange strongly encouraged for attire.
