Vona Jean Bates

Her father, Charles Elmer Wells was a music teacher at Fort Morgan High School, and famous band leader Glenn Miller was one of his students. Her mother, Kathryn, was a homemaker, and helped out with the family’s band, which played on the weekends at venues throughout Eastern Colorado.

Vona had four older siblings, Clyde, Melvyn, Maxine and Nola, who were part of the family band, with the boys playing various instruments, and the girls singing.

The family moved to the Denver area when Vona was eleven years old. She started her first job at a J.C. Penney store near the family home, when she was just twelve years old. She did odd jobs and helped clean up around the store, including changing the clothes on the mannequins in the windows.

A few years later, that experience led to a job at the Denver Dry Goods department store, where Vona dressed all of the store’s display windows for many years. Her responsibilities extended to outlying stores as the company grew.

Vona retired from the Denver Dry Goods company, and started working with plants and trees at local nurseries. She was employed in the industry, at Green Acres Nursery, Paulino Gardens, and Timerline Gardens for over forty years total. Her connection with nature was evident in her love of growing and selling trees, and she always encouraged her customers to buy plants and trees that had low water requirements, and were suited to Denver’s unique climate.

Vona’s house in Arvada was originally built for the blacksmith, who cared for horses that pulled the stagecoaches that would drop their passengers off at the stop next door, for an overnight stay.

Vona and her husband George, created their own forest-in-the-city, planting thousands of plants and trees, during over fifty years living in the historic home.

She also spent much of her time with her true love, nature’s creatures. Vona cared for, and rehabilitated many animals, some injured, and others surrendered after owners realized wild animals are not meant to be pets.

Her knowledge of nature and animal care was mostly self-taught, from experiences with nature throughout her life.

She founded and ran the North American Wildlife Sanctuary at her home, where she cared for swift and kit fox, mountain lions, bobcats, raccoons, coatimundi, a timber wolf and many other wild creatures. If an animal could be released back to their natural habitat in the wild, they were. The animals that could not be released, had a home for life with Vona at the sanctuary.

Vona also welcomed visitors to her garden and sanctuary, passing on some of her extensive knowledge about nature to each guest who stopped by.

When the sanctuary closed due to Vona’s declining health, she concentrated on her house cats, and

building beautiful hand-crafted birdhouses.

Vona's husband of many years, George Bates passed away in 1993.

Vona is survived by many members of her extended family, and others she helped raise over the years, who will always consider Vona as their "Mom."

Vona will be remembered for her love of all God’s creatures. The most common words used in many condolence messages have been “kind” and “caring,” and she was certainly both to the many whose lives she crossed.

She will be greatly missed by many, but she left us with these words:

“Don’t worry for me, because when I leave this life, I will be on to great new adventures.”

In lieu of flowers, donations in Vona’s name can be made to an animal organization or charity of your choice.