Katherine Marie Watts

Katherine Marie Watts
April 27, 1931 – February 20, 2011 Katherine passed peacefully from this life in the presence of her loving family on Sunday, February 20, 2011. Katherine or Kaye to all who knew her well was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She was a third-generation Coloradoan. Shortly after her birth her family moved to Boulder and then to Palmer Lake, Colorado. They also lived in Denison, Texas, for a short while where Kaye graduated from high school in 1948 at the age of 17. In 1965 Kaye survived a tornado and flood only to be injured in an automobile accident when a mobile home, being pulled by the suburban in which she was riding, jackknifed. The accident left her quadriplegic. She used to say, "I lost my home, an apartment building, a truck, a trailer and broke my neck all in one week!" Despite this adversity Kaye became a successful business woman. She ran a horse boarding farm on the corner of Shields and Prospect in Fort Collins for over twenty years. She also kept books for small businesses and volunteered for the Red Cross. Prior to her injury Kaye was an avid piano player and outdoorswoman. Successful hunting and fishing expeditions put many meals on the family table. She loved horses and felt great compassion for all living things. Kaye was preceded in death by her youngest child, Holly Madge Charkey in 2005. She is survived by her daughters, Billie Arceneaux and Cheryl Stutzmann; her son, Daniel Stutzmann; four grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. A grave side service will be held on Thursday at the Resthaven Cemetery at 1:00 p.m.