Stephanie Paula Hatton

Stephanie was a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day - beautiful, caring, and wonderful daughter, sister, wife, and mother. No amount of words can truly capture the unique and blessed person that was Stephanie Hatton.

Stephanie Hatton was born in Denver, Colorado, on October 19, 1968. She is survived by her husband Ran Zimon, and her dearly loved son Etay Zimon of San Gabriel, California; mother Laurie Hatton of Parker, Colorado; her father Gerald N. Hatton of Aurora, Colorado; her sister Jennifer Rosen and brother-in-law Troy Rosen of Nederland, Colorado; her brother Christopher N. Hatton and sister-in-law Kristi Doke of Parker, Colorado; her uncle David Holtz of Centennial, Colorado; her aunts Pam Holtz of Littleton, Colorado and Phyllis Martin of Reno, Nevada; her cousins Liesl Holtz of Lafayette, Colorado, Paul Holtz of Denver, Colorado and Rob Martin III of Sacramento, California. She is preceded in her departure by her older sister Elizabeth (Beth) Marjorie Hatton, her great-grandmother Gertrude Drake, and her grandparents Marjorie and Wesley Holtz and William and Paula Hatton.

As a child, Stephanie attended Stober Elementary School, Manning Junior High School, and Wheat Ridge High School, graduating with the class of 1987. She started her collegiate education initially attending the University of Missouri for fashion design and then later transferring to the University of Colorado, graduating with bachelor degrees in philosophy and art. She moved to Stowe, Vermont, after graduating, wanting to experience life and all that the world held. She worked at the Von Trapp Lodge (Sound of Music) and earned her degree and license in Massage Therapy. Stephanie loved the Vermont winters, snowboarding and working off days and nights at the Lodge. She spent the summers fishing and hiking and experiencing all the beauty that is Northern Vermont.

Stephanie longed to be home, moved back to Colorado and began coursework in math and science with a long-term plan of pursuing a career in the medical field. Being someone who loves to immerse herself in an area, she moved to the Southwest making a home in Taos, where she began a career as a firefighter. Stephanie later moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, working as both a firefighter and a massage therapist.

Stephanie was very proud of her accomplishments as a firefighter and was in peak physical condition training as an elite athlete. She competed with world-class athletes training for and placing in the Alcatraz Iron Man in San Francisco. Her career as a firefighter would come to an abrupt end when she was in a severe Christmas Eve automobile accident (hit by a drunk driver) that nearly took her life and ended her firefighting career.

Stephanie moved to Phoenix, obtaining a Master of Science in Medicine and licensed as a physician’s assistant working and living in the Phoenix area. She followed her physician’s assistant dream and her team moving to Los Angeles, California, where she met and wed Ran Zimon. Stephanie later gave birth to the love of her life, their son, Etay. Ran and Stephanie started a commercial and retail bakery, the Bread Lounge, where she shared in the business duties while working as a physician’s assistant at the Santa Monica County prison and raising their son. Stephanie and Ran worked very hard starting and growing a small business and raising their beautiful young man.

Stephanie had an amazing gift communicating, especially through the written word. Her creativity was inspiring, and she spent many hours writing short stories. Steph was in the process of completing coursework to advance her writing with a long-term goal of publishing. She most recently wrote a short story centered around her life experiences and had plans to publish the story in the near future.

Stephanie was blessed with abundant talent that knew no limits. She had the innate ability to remake herself, and this was reflected throughout her life. In fourth grade, she started playing the flute, and by the time she had reached high school, she was an accomplished flutist receiving music scholarships to two major universities. She chose a different path, initially pursuing fashion design and later fine arts.

Stephanie took up swimming as a young girl and continued to swim most of her life with her peak performance during the Alcatraz Iron Man. She began a successful modeling career in high school that carried into her early years of college. Stephanie was a wandering soul, and in her early years after college wanted to travel the world. She completed a multi-month backpacking trip through Peru and a stay with family friends in Brazil, collecting a lifetime of stories and friendships.

Stephanie had a huge heart and was deeply empathetic. She was the protector of animals and loved her feathered and furry friends. She had two small parakeets she loved dearly, Salty and Peppy, that kept her company from elementary school through high school, her two cats, Oreo and Zenith, and most recently a beloved dog Mish Mish, now in the care of Etay and Ran.

Stephanie dearly wanted a son and struggled for many years to become pregnant. She was blessed through all the hard work with her beautiful son Etay. He was the light of her life. Stephanie loved Etay dearly, and as a doting mother, spent every waking day and night attending to his needs and raising this wonderful young man with Ran. She and Ran worked diligently to provide him the best education in the most stable educational environment. Etay is a young athlete, and Stephanie dearly loved watching his soccer games. She savored every waking minute with him and was heartbroken when work took her away from him even for the shortest amount of time. Stephanie was an amazing mother.

Stephanie was a bright light that everyone loved and adored. She was authentic, artistic, and had the incredible talent of reinventing herself to fit the time and place. She was eclectic, creative, and had a stunning inner and outer beauty. She brought joy to everyone that she touched and was loved by all creatures, great and small.

Stephanie will be dearly missed and is deeply loved by her friends and family…