Llewellyn Dooley Toyne

Llewellyn Dooley Toyne of Sedgwick died at the North Colorado Medical Center on October 16, 2024 at the age of 91 after a fall at home the previous week.

He was born in Akron, Colorado on June 19, 1933 to Llewellyn and Joyce (Dooley) Toyne and was the older of the two boys. The family moved to Greeley the following year where Dooley attended elementary school. He attended The Scots College (boys' school) while the family lived in Sydney Australia from 1945-1948. He graduated from Greeley High School in 1951. Dooley attended Colorado A & M in Fort Collins and received his BS degree With Distinction in 1956. He met Ellen Mackey during their first year of college and they were married on August 23, 1952 in Las Vegas, New Mexico. They celebrated 72 years of marriage this summer. They had their children Carolyn, Glenn, and David while they still lived in Canon City where he was the County Extension Agent for Fremont and Custer Counties.

In 1962 after the death of his grandfather, Rufus Toyne, they purchased the family farm and ranch near Sedgwick which he had always loved to visit. Dooley was a farmer, rancher and beekeeper. He enjoyed ATV rides with Griff, his favorite dog, to check cattle and crops. This year he was still stacking hay bales and working cattle. He branded almost every calf born on the ranch in the last six plus decades and only missed a couple of brandings in last few years. Their son, David, farmed and ranched with him and took that over in time. Dooley's love for bees started in college, when he got four hives which eventually expanded to hundreds of hives placed around Sedgwick and Logan counties. Their grandson, Jason, started working bees with him as a teenager and eventually took over the beekeeping.

Family fishing trips in the truck were done when it rained enough for a break from farming. Over several winters, he built a television set from a kit and two full-size sailboats with his sons in the playroom. He enjoyed hunting pheasants for most of his life with family and friends. Deer hunting trips were made to the Western Slope with Ellen's family, as well as locally. For a time, his winter activity was cutting and polishing rocks, then making jewelry for family members with the stones. He used shopping in Sterling as an excuse to buy Ellen lunch. Dooley and Ellen still lived in their own home and he was able to safely drive until a few weeks before he passed.

Dooley was preceded in death by his parents, Llewellyn V. & Joyce Toyne, his brother, Gordon Toyne DVM and a son, Glenn Toyne. He is survived by his wife, Ellen, daughter Carolyn Peterson (Jim), son David (Kris), 5 grandchildren: Jason Toyne (Jan), Katherine Peterson, Diana Zigterman (Ben), Charles Toyne and Forrest Toyne, and 4 great-grandchildren: Jennifer Jo, Flynt, Philip and Peter.

His service will be held at 11 AM on Monday, November 18 at the Sedgwick Community Center. Memorial donations can be made to Sedgwick County 4H, PO Box 111, Sedgwick, CO 80749 or Sedgwick Volunteer Fire Department, PO Box 111, Sedgwick, CO 80749.