Marjorie Mae Colard

Marjorie Mae Colard - April 26, 1923 - December 5, 2023

Marjorie Mae Leafgren was born in Eaton, Colorado to Oscar and Emma Leafgren on April 26, 1923. Her sister Maxine and her brother Robert proceeded her in death. Marjorie met her husband Ray Colard in the summer of 1942 at the Brynwood Guest Ranch in Estes Park. She was working there while on her summer vacation from Colorado State College of Education. Ray was a wrangler at the guest ranch and in the evenings he would entertain the guests and staff by playing his guitar and singing cowboy songs around the campfire. As Ray would recount "When I saw Margie's face in the firelight, sparks started flying". In the fall Marjorie returned to school to continue her studies and Ray continued to work at Brynwood but they stayed in touch and talked about someday buying a ranch.

Ray was exempt from serving in the military due to a heart condition brought on by a nearly fatal bout of Rocky Mountain fever when he was a youngster. World War II was raging and Ray was determined to find a way to serve his country so he decided to become a licensed marine electrician at the Mare Island shipyard near Vallejo, California. In the fall of 1943 he asked Marjorie to marry him. She said "yes" and they drove to California where they were married on September 4, 1943 . Ray became an electrician at the shipyard and Marjorie worked in the war bond department. Their son Dennis was born on July 4th, 1944. With this new development they decided when the war was over they would return to Colorado and find their ranch. When the war ended the little family returned to Colorado and on October 3, 1945, Ray's birthday, they found their beautiful Stove Prairie ranch which remains in the family to this day.

With little money but a lot of heart and hard work Marjorie and Ray transformed the ranch and grew a fine herd of Hereford cattle. There were fences to build and hay fields to restore. Marjorie pitched in on all the physical tasks. The ranch house came without electricity or running water and Marjorie's family and friends were not certain if this "city girl" would adjust to harsh mountain living. She surprised them all. She planted and tended a large garden and harvested the vegetables and canned them to carry over the winter months. Marjorie mastered the art of cooking over a wood fired stove. Fried chicken and pot roasts were her speciality and the mouthwatering pies from her oven were the best around.

Marjorie and Ray were members of the Fort Collins Faith Church. Her dear husband passed in 2010 and she is survived by her son Dennis Colard, grandchildren Christopher Colard and Meagen Colard-Kalley, great-grandsons John Colard and Ewan Kalley.

A memorial service and reception will be held at Faith Church on April 29, 2024 at 11:00am. Memorial contributions may be made to Faith Evangelical Free Church of Fort Collins in care of Bohlender Funeral Home 121 W. Olive Street Fort Collins, Colorado.


Friends may send condolences to the family at www.bohlenerfuneralchapel.com