Carol Jean Gantt

Carol Jean Gantt died the morning of January 4, 2017, with her son Scott at her side. Carol was born in North Park, Colorado as Carol Jean Sayles; daughter to Carl and Bernice Sayles on April 18, 1931. Carol spent much of her childhood moving with her parents from ranch to timber camp to ranch as Carl Sayles moved from job to job during the depression. Carol was an only child and learned to entertain herself and play alone as she seldom had other children nearby in the often remote locations where her family lived in the mountains of north-central Colorado. As a teenager, Carol went to live with a family named Randolph in Rifle, Colorado where she would spend the school year attending Rifle High School before returning home to work at ranching with her parents for the summer. As a senior in high school, Carol was crowned Queen of the Rodeo for Garfield County, this was an honor that Carol was always proud of. Upon graduation from high school, Carol had jobs as a dental hygienist in Granby, CO and briefly worked for Time Magazine in Denver. On June 14th, 1953, Carol married William “Bill” Gantt, the two soon moved to Burlington, CO where Bill was employed as a car salesman. Bill and Carol moved to Greeley for a time then to Denver, having their four children (Rod, Debbie, Bill and Scott) along the way. The Gantt family remained in Denver throughout the childhoods and school years of their children. After raising her children and the divorce from Bill in approximately 1976, Carol found herself on her own and needing to make a living, Carol moved from her southeast Denver home to a townhouse in Aurora, CO, and began a career in the Airforce Finance Center near Lowry Airforce Base, Carol worked here until her retirement in 1986. Carol continued to live in Aurora for a few years until she moved to Bayfield, CO to be closer to Rod, his wife Joanne and the new apples of her eye, her first grandchildren, Kalen and Morgan. Carol lived in Bayfield and Ignacio until approximately 1998 when she moved to Colorado Springs, CO to be near her son and daughter-in-law, Bill(y) and Sharron, and Carol’s youngest grandchildren, Hayley and Bridgette. Carol spent the rest of her life in Colorado Springs where she became an integral part of Bill’s family’s life and they her’s. In recent years, Carol moved into an assisted living community until November, 2016 when she moved in with her son Scott who cared for his mother until her death. Carol was a devoted wife and mother, her highest aspiration was to raise her children to be good people. Carol loved all things Irish, John Wayne movies (and John Wayne himself), the color green and the Colorado mountains, she was proud of her Irish and cattle ranching heritage. But by far, and most of all, Carol loved her children and grandchildren, always being a generous and proud mother and grandmother. Carol had a lively and sarcastic sense of humor (a trait that she passed on to her children and grandchildren) that came out on most every occasion, she was playful and not above a good practical joke. Carol is survived by her four children and her four grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at Bohlender Funeral Chapel in Fort Collins, Colorado at 1:30 0n Friday, January 13, 2017. Carol will be laid to rest next to her parents at Roselawn Cemetery.

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Carol Jean Gantt

April 18, 1931 - January 4, 2017