Mary Ellen Pettigrew

Services will be held Tuesday, April 10, 1:00 pm at First United Methodist Church, 420 N. Nevada. A reception will follow in the church’s hospitality room. At 3:00 pm a burial services will be held at Memorial Gardens, 3825 Airport Rd.

She was born in Glasgow, Kansas on July 18, 1924. She moved to Twin Falls, Idaho in 1929 with her parents Jim and Florence Howard, her brother Dick and sister Lucille. They initially lived on a farm and then moved to town when her father purchased a tractor dealership. She graduated from Kimberley High School in 1941 where she was valedictorian. She then went to work as a dental assistant.

She met her future husband, Wesley N. Pettigrew, when he was stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho as a bomber pilot instructor. She followed him to Colorado Springs when he was discharged and they were married on December 2, 1945. They went into business with his father and three brothers and ran the Pettigrew Auction Company until he retired in 1985. She could be found in the office on auction days, every Tuesday. They raised their four children in Colorado Springs. They were married 56 years until his death in 2002.

Mary Ellen was very involved in the activities of her children including being a Brownie and Girl Scout leader, PTA volunteer and officer at all school levels, chaperoning dances and other events, and attending hockey, baseball and football games. She was also very involved with the First United Methodist Church, the Odds and Ends Sunday School class and the United Methodist’s Women’s Organization.

She worked on projects championed by several philanthropic organizations, serving as an officer including president and attending national conventions. She was a member of Beta Sigma Phi. She was among the founding members of the Assistance League of Colorado Springs where she worked in the Bargain Box thrift store, Operation School Bell (providing new clothes to school children) and serving as a puppet master for school presentations. She always saved time for dancing, including square dancing, and being a member of the Broadmoor Waltz Club. She loved traveling both inside and outside the country with friends and family.

She was preceded in death by her brother Dick and sister Lucille. She is survived by her four children: W. Neil Pettigrew Jr. (Jocelyn) Colorado Springs, Christine M. Gray (Edward) Snohomish, WA, Steven L. Pettigrew (Posy), Chandler, AZ, Philip A. Pettigrew (Robin) Denver, two grandchildren Christian and Joshua Pettigrew, Colorado Springs, Dolly the cat, and numerous nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Assistance League of Colorado Springs for Operation School Bell, 318 E. Cimarron St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80903.