Margaret J. Cornella O'Leary

Margie was born on July 7, 1938 in Leadville, Colorado. She moved to Florence in 1953 and completed her freshman year at Florence High School. She relocated to Pueblo, and completed her high school career as a proud bulldog at Centennial High School. The day after her graduation, she embarked upon a long career, with 39 years of service at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo, starting as a psychiatric technician and then as an RN, after completing her nursing degree in 1967.

She completed her BSN in 1978 from the University of Colorado and her Master’s in Nursing Administration from the University of Colorado in 1987. Her enthusiasm for education led her to serve as a nursing instructor for USC, PCC, Bethel and Trinidad Jr. College. She was a school nurse for District 60 and the Health/Handicap Coordinator for the Head Start Program. She volunteered for the Red Cross, providing nursing services for the Colorado State Fair, worked as an Advanced EMT, and was a crisis intervention psychiatric nurse counselor. She was recognized as one of the 90 Colorado Outstanding Nurses in 1994, USC Outstanding Women’s Award nominee in 1982-83, Florence Nightingale Award Nominee in 1986 and 1991, and received the Governor’s Award for Team Management in 1995. She was inducted into the Centennial Hall of Fame in 2000. She served on the Human Resource Committee, Friendly Harbor and the Centennial Foundation . She was a member of multiple professional nursing organizations and published several articles related to mental health and child welfare. She loved life, family, her kitties, her Broncos, Buffalos and Bulldogs. She will be greatly missed. She is survived by her daughter, Kathy (Dan) Atencio, sister-in-law Donna (John) Cornella and numerous extended family members. A celebration of her life will be held at the Sacred Heart Cathedral on Friday, Aug 28, with a rosary at 9 am and the funeral mass at 9:30am. She will be interred at the Imperial Memorial Gardens Chapel of Angels following the mass. A reception will be held at her home at 9 Terrace Dr. at 1 pm. Masks are required and all are urged to wear RED. In lieu of food and flowers, donations may be made to Friendly Harbor Mental Health and CMHIP H&W 010S Patient Care Fund, attention accounting at 1600 W. 24th St. Pueblo.