Nina Bertha Eason passed away in Grand Junction, Colorado at the age of 97 on April 4, 2012. Born in Two Buttes, Colorado on March 6, 1915, to John Ralph Nicholas and Bertha Myrtle Mayhood Nicholas, Nina spent her early years on the plains of western Kansas and eastern Colorado.
Much of her childhood was spent on a small farm in eastern Colorado. Known as the “Oasis” due to her father’s horticultural skills, the farm was located 12 miles south of Boyero. Her parents raised most of what they required and she rode a horse to attend a small country school. Her world expanded when she left the farm in her early twenties to attend Barnes Business School in Denver.
On June 4, 1939, she married William Jay Eason, “the cowboy next door”. Their marriage lasted 57 years until his death on January 8, 1997. Their early years together were spent on ranches across the Colorado plains, but they transitioned to the city with a move to Denver in 1953. It was at that point that she dusted off her business school training and went to work as a secretary at Colorado Metals.
After retiring at age 62, Nina found her true calling as a community leader and an advocate for seniors. It was then that she became actively involved with the American Association of Retired Persons, serving first as president of her local chapter. That was followed by three years as Assistant State Director. She then served as Colorado State Director of AARP from December 1981 to December 1985. It was during those years that she traveled over the state visiting chapters, attending yearly conventions and traveling to Washington DC for meetings. She then served on the Resolutions Committee which set priorities for the next AARP convention and also served on the AARP legislative committee.
In addition to her involvement with AARP, Nina served in 1993 under Mayor Pena on the Commission on Aging, in 1994 as a member of the Denver Regional Council of Governments, and as a board member on OASIS which was a senior activity and study group. Her active involvement continued in 1996 with service on the Denver Commission on Aging. She was also an active participant in efforts to get a senior center in the Barnum Community. It was in that center that she participated in numerous activities to include leading a discussion group for several years that explored many and varied topics.
Throughout all this, she was very active in the Bethany United Methodist Church where she held many offices and received numerous recognitions for her efforts. As age slowed her ability to participate in the many things in Denver that meant so much to her she made the decision to move in October 2003 to the Grand Junction area where she could be closer to family.
She is survived by her son and daughter in law Nick and Marian Eason, granddaughters Christie Frank (Larry) and Karen Eason, and great grandchildren Laura Frank and Philip Frank, as well as many nephews and nieces. She was preceded in death by her parents Ralph and Bertha Nicholas, her husband William Eason, and sisters Thelma Thompson, Inez Schroeder and Kathryn Inness.
Services for Nina Eason will be conducted at Bethany United Methodist Church at 3501 West 1st Avenue, Denver, Colorado on April13th at 11:00 AM. It is suggested that a donation be made to Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado; 2754 Compass Drive, Suite 377; Grand Junction, CO 81506; or www.hospice.com, in lieu of flowers.
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