Cecilia Mae Eckhardt

Cecilia Mae Eckhardt, age 86, of Wellington, Colorado, passed away on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. She was born March 19, 1940, in Greeley, Colorado, the eldest child of Vernon and Evelyn Miller.

She was also known as Celie or Cecie to her many friends and family.

Cecilia spent her childhood on a farm east of Lucerne, where she rode her horse to Lone Tree School with her brothers. She graduated from Eaton High School in 1958, where her lifelong love of sewing began.

On February 26, 1961, Cecilia married Charles Eckhardt. Together they raised their three children and farmed for 40 years in the Ault area. After retiring from farming in 2001, they moved to Wellington.

Over the years, Cecilia held various jobs. She worked for the U.S. Census multiple times, spent a short time with the U.S. Post Office, and was an Avon representative for many years.

Cecilia was an excellent seamstress and quilter, with a real eye for pairing fabrics with clothing designs. She spent countless hours sewing for family and friends, including many weddings where she created all of the dresses for bridesmaids and flower girls. She also made costumes for school plays, as well as jumpers and shirts for her daughter's middle school choir group. In later years, she enjoyed machine appliqué and designed and made customized T-shirts for many people with their personal interests in mind.

Above all, Cecilia loved her family and often said she had always wanted to be a mom. She was always there to support her children in their school and 4-H activities. Cecilia adored her five grandchildren and loved spending time with each of them. She was also blessed with three great-grandchildren.

Cecilia is survived by her daughters, Susan Halbach (Pat) and Cheryl Thompson (Mike), and her son, John Eckhardt; five grandchildren, Jacob and Sarah Thompson, and Katie, Emily, and Lindsay Halbach; three great-grandchildren, Madoc and Charlotte McConnell and Jackson Sickafoose; and her sisters, Carolyn Ehn (Bob) and Anne Beckwith (Gary).

She was preceded in death by her husband of 62 years, Charles Eckhardt; her parents, Vernon and Evelyn Miller; and her brothers, Eugene Miller and Warren Miller.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 9, 2026, at Bohlender Funeral Chapel in Fort Collins. Reception to follow.

Memorial gifts may be made in the form of donations to:

Wellington Fire District – Emergency Medical Response, in care of Bohlender Funeral Chapel, 121 W. Olive Street, Fort Collins, CO 80524