Almeda Grace Hittle

Almeda Grace Hittle, 94, of Fort Collins, passed away on March 26, 2016 at home at Brookdale Assisted Living. She was born on December 15, 1921, to Howard Adam and Hazel Irene (Griffis) Durham in Beatrice, Nebraska. She grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, where her father taught chemistry at Nebraska Wesleyan University. The family moved to Fort Collins in 1938, and Grace graduated from Fort Collins High School in 1939. She attended Colorado State University, receiving a bachelor’s degree in home economics in 1943. She taught briefly in Colorado and Texas before marrying Carl Nelson Hittle in Fort Collins on December 22, 1945. They had five children. After Carl completed his degree in 1947, they moved to Ithaca, New York, where he attended Cornell University. They spent a few years in Costa Rica before settling in Champaign-Urbana Illinois. Grace was primarily a stay-at-home mom, although she did some pre-school teaching and was a part-time teacher of homebound high school students. Starting in 1969, Grace and Carl spent the next two decades living in India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, where Carl was engaged in international agricultural development projects. They developed a wide circle of friends in the local and expatriate communities in each of these locations. While in Nepal, Grace served as director of a pre-school. They finally returned to Fort Collins, where they renewed connections with old friends and became active in many community activities. Grace was active in the First United Methodist Church and PEO, and was life-long member of Delta Zeta sorority. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Carl, and infant son, Kenneth, her brother, Adam Francis (Fran) Durham, and her sisters, Virginia Popish and Charlotte Schumacher. She is survived by her sons, Douglas, David, Donald and Craig Hittle, her sister, Rosemary Sczbecki, seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Visitation will be on April 11, 2016 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM at Allnutt Funeral Chapel, 650 West Drake Rd, Fort Collins. A funeral service will be held at the First United Methodist Church, 1005 Stover St, Fort Collins, on April 12, 2016 at 11:00 AM. Donations may be made in Grace’s memory to the First United Methodist Church of Fort Collins, the Colorado State University Foundation designated for the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, or a charity of the donor’s choice.