Mary Carlon Lorz

October 29, 1938 – October 20, 2025

Mary Carlon Lorz, 86, of Denver, Colorado, passed away peacefully on Monday, October 20, 2025, surrounded by her loving family and lifelong friend.

Born Mary Ottmann on October 29, 1938, in Bozeman, Montana, she was the daughter of Louis Hindenberg Ottmann and Jennie (Andriolo) Ottmann. Mary graduated from Helena High School in 1958 and began her career as a secretary in the Montana Governor’s Office. It was in Helena that Mary met Larry Lorz, introduced by her best friend, Susan, who set Mary up with her husband’s friend, Larry. The couple married in August 1964 in Helena, Montana.

Mary and Larry moved to Miles City, Montana, where Larry worked as an aviation mechanic, and Mary served as a clerk at Montgomery Ward. Later, they relocated to Denver, Colorado, where Larry joined Frontier Airlines as one of its initial employees. The couple shared a duplex with their close friends, who had introduced them, and both couples' children remain friends to this day. In 1968, Mary and Larry built their family home in north Denver, where Mary resided until her passing.

Mary was an extraordinary homemaker. Mary delighted and excelled in baking, cooking, canning, gardening, sewing, knitting, and crafting. She created and maintained a beautiful home life for her family. Mary was a founding member of Cross of Christ Church in Broomfield, Colorado. Mary worked as a bookkeeper at the Sears Repair Shop in Thornton, Colorado, for several years.

Mary was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Larry Lorz, who passed away in August of 1987, her parents, Louis and Jennie Ottmann, and her brother, Robert Ottmann., her parents, Louis and Jennie Ottmann, and her brother, Robert Ottmann.

She is survived by her two sons, Thomas Allan Lorz and Patrick Robert Lorz; her grandchildren, Zachary Robert Lorz and Autumn Kaetlyn Lorz; her daughter-in-law, DeAnn Lorz; her son-in-law, James Rhye; and her cherished lifelong friend, Susan Landrith.

Graveside services will be held on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, at 11:00 am at Crown Hill Cemetery in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, with clergy officiating, followed by a reception in Heritage Hall at Crown Hill. Mary will be buried next to her husband, Larry.

Contributions in memory of Mary can be made to Cross of Christ Church (Link here) https://secure.myvanco.com/YJNG/campaign/C-YSH7

Mary’s legacy of love, creativity, and devotion to family and faith will live on in the hearts of all who knew her.