Elizabeth Ann Dale

Elizabeth Ann Dale, 91, died with family by her side on October 19, 2019. It was a beautiful fall day that her artist’s soul would have appreciated. Libby was born on January 26, 1928 to George and Wilma Finegan Goetz, in Hartington, NE, the eldest of three children.

Libby had a lot of blessings in her life, as well as difficult losses too. Her dad died when she was 13, which added to the difficulty of living in the depression era because she was charged with looking after her siblings while their mother worked. But the biggest losses were the deaths of two children: Michael at age 2 in 1956, and Rex at age 28 in 1981.

When she was 18, she went to live with an aunt and uncle and work in New York City for the summer before entering Wayne State Teachers College in Wayne, NE. That exposure to the excitement of a big city opened her eyes to the world outside of her small hometown.

While at Wayne State, she met the love of her life and married Jack Dale on February 28th, 1949. Soon after, their first of four children arrived. In 1950, they moved to Fort Collins where they remained. They loved being a part of watching Fort Collins as it grew and changed. They were the original fixer-uppers, Libby had the vision and it was up to Jack to make it happen.

Libby led a very involved life with friends, family, her job and several community organizations. She had a long standing book club, played bridge weekly, was very involved with PEO, Arts In Public Places, numerous painting classes and was a member of St. Joseph’s Church. Entertaining was Libby’s forte, be it for her family, a gathering of friends, or an event for hundreds. It was almost a daily occurrence to be hosting neighborhood friends to discuss art, politics and current events. She loved life and the people in it.

She was a long time employee at First National Bank, becoming the first female bank officer. She loved her job. She met and worked with many Fort Collins business people, building the client base at First National and building lifelong relationships with hundreds of people she had encountered along the way. Through the bank she also worked closely with CSU. She was instrumental in helping to bring several artists and exhibits to town, including Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein as well as Native American and Southwestern artists.

Art and travel filled her life in her retirement. She painted many a watercolor and her portraits of family members were special gifts that captured the essence of the person. Her eye for color and lighting was obvious. Seeing the landscape, clouds, and sky through her eyes would open ours to a new appreciation of the beauty around us. She always had her paints with her when she would travel and several paintings still hang of her adventures to Italy, France, Mexico, Ireland, England and places closer to home like the Rocky Mountains, Arizona, and various National Parks.

Libby is survived by her two living children: Connie Dale Osborn, Robert John Dale (Sharon); her grandchildren: Amanda Jean Osborn Hood (Ryan); Michael Charles Osborn (Priscila); and great grandchildren: Sophia and Calder Hood, and Benicio Osborn; In addition she is survived by an extended family of adoring nieces, nephews and in particular one grandniece, Dale Broder, who was especially close to Libby while she was in graduate school in the PHD program at CSU. They got together once a week for dinner, fun and a jolt of youthfulness that Libby loved. She is predeceased by her husband Jack; sons, Rex and Michael; brother Bill Goetz and his wife Alice; her sister, Mary Ellen Jurenka and her husband Frank; and her former son in law, Bill Osborn.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Rex Dale Memorial Scholarship at CSU or The Scleroderma Foundation for Research.

Mass will be November 26, 2019 @ 2:00 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church followed by LIbbyFest at the Fort Collins Country Club from 4-6PM.