Gertrude Puck Mcmillan

Born Jan. 8, 1915, in Grand Junction, Gertrude McMillan learned early that she played a vital role in the economic success of the family. Her father was an engineer for the North Poudre Irrigation Company, and Gertrude was charged with taking the work horses to Cameron Pass each spring. She did the solo two-day horseback journey for most of her teenage years. This is one of the experiences that forged her character as a hard-working, success-driven woman. Gertrude was later dubbed "Puck" from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by her close friends, a name that stayed with her the rest of her life. Puck was a school teacher when women teachers were not allowed to be married. She and Larry eloped to Kimball, Neb., on Jan. 5, 1941, and were secretly married for more than a year. She became a bench chemist during World War II, where she and Larry worked in the high Andes in Peru for the Vanadium Corporation of America. After the war, they returned to Colorado and lived in Wray and later in Fort Collins. As an avid and competitive golfer, Puck proudly won several women's golf tournaments in Fort Collins in the early 1960s. Puck, Larry and their two children moved to Washington, D.C., in 1966, and she resumed her profession as a teacher in Prince Georges County. She and Larry retired to Fort Collins in 1975. During her life, Puck assumed several volunteer leadership positions with PEO Chapter EB, Colorado State University, St. Joseph's Church, the Fort Collins Women's Golf Association and the Fort Collins Country Club. She was preceded in death by her parents, Fred and Gertrude Barnes; her husband, Lawrence J. McMillan; and her son, John "Jack" McMillan. She is survived by her daughter, Micki McMillan. Puck died at Blue Grouse Health Center on Nov. 13, 2007, at the age of 92. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m. Friday at St. Joseph's Church. Contributions may be made to Colorado State University Foundation-Student Success Scholarship, Larimer County Hospice or Food Bank for Larimer County in care of Bohlender Funeral Chapel. Friends may send condolences to the family at www.bohlenderfuneralchapel.com .