Carolyn Dame Stienmier

Carolyn Dame Stienmier (84) of Ft. Collins, Colorado passed away October 12, 2026 after an extended battle with cancer.

Carolyn was born in Casper, Wyoming on August 19, 1942 to Ray Dame and Shirley England. Her family relocated to Colorado Springs where Carolyn attended Cheyenne Mountain High School and discovered her love of horses, dogs, and the outdoors. She studied Psychology at Colorado State University in Ft. Collins where Carolyn met and eventually married Roy, her husband of over 50 years.

She was the calming ballast to Roy’s exuberance and, often times, irreverent sense of humor.

Carolyn watched, listened, and absorbed the world around her and allowed people to “come as they are”. This was best illustrated in her motto for her early gardening in the home that Carolyn and Roy would live in for 50+ years - a newly built log house that was remote and even desolate to some. Carolyn saw tons of potential and enough land for horses, dogs, cats, chickens, and children to call home. She took the house as it was - not a tree or blade of grass in sight - saw the potential, and uttered the phrase that we have all heard many times over the years, “If it’s green, it’s welcome.” Weeds and roses were greeted with equal enthusiasm.

For the next five decades, that log structure in the Poudre Valley became the oasis that many folks picture when they hear the word “home”. Carolyn orchestrated the planting of every tree, bush, flower, and blade of grass that elicits the “wow” when folks drive up today.

It wasn’t just the plants that she welcomed to the Poudre Valley. There were the horses that became daughter Kathryn’s lifeblood. There were the chickens and the caring for such things that taught David work ethic. And there were dogs. Countless dogs that were taught, trained, loved, and spoiled under the caring and reasonable tutelage of Carolyn. There were children, both her own and their friends, that found home there. The space Carolyn created for everyone was quiet, patient, and accepting.

Carolyn’s kindness, patience, and creativity are what made her such a memorable and valued member of the Ft. Collins High School community, where she spent 25 years as the attendance secretary and eventually the registrar. Legend has it that she could sniff a forged attendance note a mile away. She enjoyed the energy of teenagers and particularly enjoyed supporting them in their endeavors - musical, athletic, theatrical.

She started as Carolyn, but throughout the course of her life had many names - George, Aunt C, Mrs. Stienmier, and Nana to name a few. She carried many titles - daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend, aunt, and grandma. While her physical presence leaves a notable absence, her nurturing influence lives on in the love her family has for the things that she taught us to love: horses, reading, art and music, dogs, and each other.

Carolyn is preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Roy. She is survived by her daughter Kathryn (Rex), son David (Cass), granddaughter Lucy, brother Dave, sister Bonny, Kaci (her beloved terrier who has moved in with David and Cass), and a gaggle of nieces and nephews.

A brief graveside service will be held at Grandview Cemetery in Ft. Collins at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday November 21, 2026. A reception will immediately follow in the activities space at Rigden Farms 2350 Limon Dr. Ft. Collins.

In lieu of flowers, a donation to the Ft. Collins High School Music Department can be made by clicking on the link and choosing “music” on the drop-down menu. You may also mail a check directly to:

Ft. Collins High School Music

Attn: Andraya Perron

3400 Lambkin Way

Fort Collins, CO 80525