Vallorie Meehan

Vallorie Meehan is survived by her 3 children, Julie Meehan Tripp (Phil), Riley Meehan, Denver CO, and Dana Meehan, Laguna Beach CA , Charles Tripp(Emily), and John Meehan, Denver CO, brother Gary Curtin (Barbara), Williamsburg VA, and an extended family of nieces and nephews and grandchildren that she loved with all her heart. Preceded in death by her husband, Dan Meehan, and sister, Gloria Ott.

Eulogy:

Vallorie Curtin was born in 1923 to her parents, Luetta and Gilbert Curtin. She was born in a house on University Blvd, near the University of Denver--she was born on the dining room table! Her parents had moved to Denver from Kansas City KS, in the early 1920s with both of their familes disapproving of their marriage-- her father from an Irish Catholic family, and her mother from prominent Kansas City Protestant family.

She grew up in the Parkhill neighborhood in Denver, and attended East High School. Vallorie and her sister, Gloria, loved to go ice skating at City Park Lake. Their younger brother Gary would often join them with the family dog, Jerry. They made sure their little brother, Gary, knew the names of all the leaders of the world—especially Haile Selassie of Ethiopia! She graduated from the University of Denver where she studied Spanish and airline practices. After a brief stint as a bookkeeper in Chicago, she got her first real job as a censor for the US government in Miami where she read letters coming from South America in Portuguese and Spanish. She had an adventurous and bold spirit, and subsequently found a job, much to her parents concern, as one of the first Pan American airline stewardesses near the end of World War II. She loved to fly, and fly she did—all over South America, and the Caribbean. Once the Captain let her take the controls over the Bermuda Triangle—she loved to tell that story!

She especially had fond memories of Barranquilla, Rio, Cuba, and Panama. She loved to tell the story of the day she fell out of a plane (DC3 or 10). She was showing a purser around a plane when she accidentally stepped on a tarp on the floor that was covering up the cargo door. She fell out of the airplane onto the tarmac 20 feet below. On one of her layovers in Panama, a friend introduced her to her soon-to-be husband, Danny Meehan. After three dates, one of which included Dan's flying her in his plane over Panama (where he confided to her midair that he did not yet have his license), and rendezvous in different ports, he proposed to her in Barranquilla, Columbia and they began planning a double June wedding in Denver with her sister Gloria & finance David Ott. Even though Dan had grown up in the Panama Canal Zone, he agreed to make Denver his new home in 1947 and experienced snow for the first time on June 4th. Shortly after they were married, her husband accepted a job back in Panama which took him to the Darien as a representative of an oil company. They moved there for three years. Vallorie, who was not the stay-at-home housewife type, worked as a missionary teacher at a Methodist school teaching in Spanish in Panama City. She always had fond memories of her students,the people there, and her newlywed years- even naming her son Riley after a boy they were fond of that sold bananas on the street.

After her husband's contract was up, they returned to Denver and started a furniture store called the Tropic Shop on Colorado Blvd.-- before the street was fully paved. During the 1950's they sold rattan furniture and items familiar to men who had returned from the war in the Pacific theater. After a few years, they became one of the first tenants at the new Cherry Creek Shopping Center. Vallorie took an interest in people and was an enthusiastic sales lady. It was generally felt that she could sell anything, and the more exotic the item , the more fun she had--from tiki fountains to fried grasshoppers.

She and her husband, Dan, worked together every day on their business and gave each other advice. One time, the advice to Dan when he was stuck at the bottom of the mountain in a blizzard and he called to let let her know, she told him to just get out there on the highway and hitchhike!

When they decided to move their business to Applewood, at the same time, they designed and built a home on Lookout Mountain and Vallorie joined the nearby Rockland Church. Religion was important to her and she had a global perspective and belief in tolerance of all others, which lives on in her children today and many people that she educated and touched. She served as a member of the Board for World Ministry, and for over 50 years, organized volunteers and ran a local self-help handicraft mission outlet called SERRV, helping to provide a way for impoverished people around the world to support themselves and their families. She felt that we had so much, and that sharing and tolerance was the obvious path.

Vallorie was known for doing several things at once. Chaos was fun--exciting! When she was in her late fifties, and she and her husband gave up the furniture business, and she decided to open a shop selling antiques. Her shop in Arvada called PennyRoyal Station, provided an exciting and sociable life which she relished. She was especially fond of antique jewelry and glassware. She enjoyed the daily banter with the pickers and the other dealers. Occasionally, the store was robbed, or the roof would leak. She would often buy things from people who came into the shop just to help them out, even though she knew their items would probably not sell. To make things even more exciting, she and her sister, Gloria, started a theatrical booking agency and catering business called Parties Extraordinaire where it would not have been unusual to find them cooking up an Australian outback adventure party for the country club set, or buying a live pig then digging a pit for a pig roast for a backyard Hawaiian luau. One time, in the middle of the night, she got an urgent call from a popular performer whom they had booked for an event the following day—sadly, the snake charmer's snake had just died and they had to substitute with a trick pony act because the lady who jumped out of the cake was not available. She tackled adversity with her typical optimism and confidence.

Her love for world travel, excitement , exotic culture and food, and interest in people was out of this world. She had an overabundance of the gift of gab, and there was never a person or stranger she did not want to engage with, and share experiences with. She delighted in their life stories and there was not a person she did not see value in and there was never a stranger. When traveling overseas, especially in underdeveloped and poor areas, our Mom took great delight in taking polaroid’s of people and giving them the photo on the spot – always got their attention and started up the conversation with interaction and fun.

She loved to entertain and the house was always full of guests from other countries,their stories, costumes, and foods. Vigorous conversation was always lively and there was always a good debate to be had. International cuisine was often on the table, with food trips to the Japanese market for fresh squid, searching for avocados in the dry Colorado markets, and the most delicious and authentic Mexican and Panamanian fare. We were all part of the same world and Val believed in a welcoming and educational environment in bringing it together. Her family loved to celebrate for any reason and took trips to the family cabin built by her father ,brother brother-in-law near Idaho Springs where days were filled with cooking, hiking, nature,fishing and nights with canasta games, laughter, and again- a few debates, by kerosene lantern. She loved animals- dogs, squirrels, rabbits, birds, deer and elk and and would feed the horses down the road carrots.

Always up for fun--no matter what! One time, in later years, driving alone on the way to my house, she took out an enormous street light on Santa Fe Blvd. When I arrived on the scene, she was sitting in the back seat of the police car in the dark. I climbed in next to her and asked her if she was all right—she leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Are we still going out to dinner?”

She was a generous woman, loved people, and had a genuine concern for them all, especially the underdog. She taught her children the importance of hospitality, generosity and respect.

In the late 70s, her husband accepted a job with the International Red Cross out of Switzerland which took them to live in Mexico and Bangladesh. In Mexico she traveled around the country with her husband visiting places where the Red Cross had built new homes after a devastating earthquake. In Mexico, she had a brief stint in learning to drive a motorcycle, which she promptly crashed –not knowing how to stop it. In Bangladesh, she worked as a fifth grade teacher at an international school in Dhaka. She loved the excitement of living abroad, and she especially enjoyed her work there. She met a Christian man who had converted from Islam and who was trying to start a church. His church was only a tent out in the fields near Dhaka and their work together was instrumental in providing support for impoverished women though the sale of their handmade goods. After returning to the United States, Vallorie continued to import and sell the items from these women providing much needed financial support. One time a shipment arrived from Bangladesh and the proper paperwork had not been completed in Bangladesh-- the shipment illegally entered the US and there was Vallorie to pick it up…….which by the way is a Federal offense. When the phone rang for our Mom, it was never dull! She took an interest in people who tried to do seemingly impossible things, and she was impressed by people of faith.

Before she lost her ability to speak, Mom always said, “I don't think about what I can't do, I think about what I CAN do! Near the end of her life, she refused to be defeated by the Alzheimer's disease that was slowly overcoming her brain and her adventurous spirit. She was surprised at times by people's reactions and lack of tolerance. Our family encourages people to learn more about this disease and how a simple welcoming spirit, a short visit, or smile is Christ-like and really counts for those who are suffering. We want to express our gratitude to those who went beyond their comfort zone in offering their friendship, caregiving, and understanding during the years she suffered.

We experienced angels on earth at the Memory Care Unit at the Brookdale Englewood Meridian in Englewood CO where at least 50 wonderful and compassionate people were responsible for her 24-hr care for almost three years. In her later years, when we would go to the bank together, she always told me that she wanted to go somewhere where everyone knew her name—well, everyone at the Meridian knew her name!

Thank you all so much for being part of Vallorie's life.

Funeral services for Vallorie Meehan will be:

10:00am Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Rockland Community Church

17 S. Mt. Vernon Country Club Rd.

Golden, CO 80401

Remembrance donations in Vallorie's name can be sent to:

http://www.serrv.org/category/donate-lend

1.800.422.5915

or by mail to:

SERRV International

Serrv International

ATTN: Kellie Jones, Director of Finance

PO Box 365

500 Main Street

New Windsor, MD 21776-0365

Cards for the family to :

Julie Tripp

PO Box 555

Englewood, CO 80151

The family will be posting more information shortly.