Wilma Horton McCulloch

Wilma Horton McCulloch, 86, died peacefully at home on Tuesday, May 25, 2010, after a short illness. She was born October 1, 1923, in her grandparents' home outside Boaz, Graves County, Kentucky, to Harold Lyndon Horton and Ouida Davidson Horton, their firstborn. Wilma was 15 when her mother succumbed to cancer, putting her in charge of raising three brothers and one sister. She graduated in 1940 from Northern High School in Farmington, MI, at the age of 16 and enrolled in Michigan State University that fall. She earned a home economics degree from that institution in 1944 and began her teaching career in River Rouge, MI. Wilma married Raymond Eugene McCulloch in 1946, and two years later, toddler in tow, they began a job-hunting trek which carried them to the oilfield town of Eunice, NM. Ray began a career-long stint with Gulf Oil and Warren Petroleum; Wilma returned to teaching when their youngest entered first grade. Over a varied and distinguished career, she taught seventh-grade math, seventh-grade social studies, fifth grade, Home Economics Cooperative Extension program for on-the-job student training and junior high school earth science. After leaving New Mexico, Ray and Wilma lived in Southeast Texas. They spent two years in Ahwaz, Iran, in the early 1970s and enjoyed holiday visits from their children. Upon completion of the Iran assignment, they moved to Bridgeport, TX, and then 11 miles to Springtown, where they lived in a vintage dairy farm house built in 1918. They moved to River Rock Commons cohousing, between Old Town and the Poudre River, in Fort Collins in 2000. Wilma was, to say the least, tart-tongued. She always said what she thought in an unvarnished manner yet was always open to and considerate of others' opinions, ideas and viewpoints – a progressive farm girl to the end. Her pithy sayings have been collected into a small but impressive anthology. She was fastidious and an excellent cook and had a vividly green thumb; she could make anything grow and often resuscitated ailing plants to full glory. She was a lifelong church member with deep faith and commitment and served in many capacities over the years in the United Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ. Ray and Wilma were married for 58 years until his death in 2004. Wilma's survivors include a daughter and son-in-law, Marilyn and Greg Rampley of Phoenix; a son and daughter-in-law, Larry and Janet McCulloch of Fort Collins; a son, Mark McCulloch, of Austin, TX; a brother and sister-in-law, Bill and Marilyn Horton of Red Bank, NJ; a sister and brother-in-law, Lady Alice and Gene Satterfield of Farmington Hills, MI; an aunt, Rowena Cloteen "Teen" Davidson Barham, 98, of Jackson, TN; five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. The family expresses thanks to many supporters from Plymouth Congregational Church and to the River Rock Commons family that "adopted" Ray and Wilma the moment they moved to Fort Collins. They were overwhelmed by the residents' impromptu cortege for Wilma as she left River Rock for the last time. A memorial service will be conducted at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 19, at Plymouth Congregational Church, UCC, 916 W. Prospect, followed by a celebration dinner at 6 p.m. at the River Rock Common House, 520 N. Sherwood. Memorial contributions may be made in Wilma's honor to Plymouth Church or to the River Rock Memorial Fund.

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Wilma Horton McCulloch

October 1, 1923 - May 25, 2010