Lola Mae Blevins

Lola Mae Blevins was born Lola Mae Furlong on November 6, 1918 in Boulder, Colorado. She died April 13, 2020 in Denver, Colorado at 101 years of age. She is survived by her two daughters, Linda Smith (and husband John) and Barbara Adams (and husband Jim), five grandchildren, Michelle Martin (Darin Klocker), Scott Martin (Rene), Eric Adams, Andrew Smith (Crystal), and Robert Adams, along with eight great grandchildren and 10 great-great grandchildren.

Lola was the only child of two only children, Melvin and Lulu Furlong. When her mother passed away in 1920, Lola and her father lived together with Lola’s paternal grandparents in the Mountain View subdivision in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, where, in 1937, Lola became a member of the first graduating class from Wheat Ridge High School. Great-grandson Nathaniel Martin was a graduate of Wheat Ridge High School in 2019, and Grandma couldn’t have been more thrilled. She thought it was a great thing to have her great-grandson graduate from her alma mater!

After graduating from Wheat Ridge High School, she attended and graduated from Barnes Business College where she learned the skills to be a secretary. She worked as a secretary in various offices in Denver, including one that took her on a temporary assignment to Chicago. Footloose and fancy free in Chicago in her early twenties! It was quite an adventure.

The house she lived in while growing up was located just north of 38th Avenue on the west side of Sheridan Boulevard. She told stories of the days when her father and grandfather would ride the “tram” (electric bus – long before RTD!) along 38th Avenue into downtown Denver and back, and the same when she was working downtown. Sheridan was the end of the line for the tram! They walked to church at Berkeley United Methodist Church at 43rd and Sheridan.

Lola’s best friends, Bernice and Maxine Campbell, also lived nearby in Wheat Ridge and attended Wheat Ridge High School. They and their spouses, Frank Wilson and Ed Dietz, remained close friends for life, and all the families spent many happy times together through the years.

Lola’s maternal grandparents continued living in Boulder, Colorado. Lola’s Grandpa Fox owned a mining claim in the mountains near Caribou, just outside of Nederland, and Lola often accompanied them on trips up there, staying in a cabin they owned nearby. Lola loved the mountains and never stopped marveling at their beauty and wonder. She loved to take rides in the mountains anywhere, just to enjoy the scenery and fresh air. She was known to remark that she couldn’t understand how anyone could look at all that majesty and not know for a fact that God exists.

Lola’s Boulder grandparents had friends in Boulder by the name of Pierce, who had come from West Virginia. The Pierces had four grown sons. Lola met and fell in love with Miles Pierce around 1940. He served in the military early in World War II, and Lola and Miles were married during a leave of absence. When his enlistment was up, he was discharged and returned to Boulder. He then got a job at the Remington Arms plant (now known as the Federal Center), and they rented a small house in Lakewood. On one of his days off, Miles went fishing with some friends in Boulder. A storm came up, capsizing the boat, and Miles drowned. After three short years, Lola was a widow. She returned to Boulder to live with her grandparents for a time, then got a job in the steno pool at Remington Arms. That was her way of helping the war effort. She commuted on the train from Boulder to Lakewood for some time before deciding to rent a room closer to her job. During the mid-forties, it was not uncommon for people to rent a bedroom in their house to a single person needing a place to stay. She lived in two or three different parts of Denver during this time.

After the end of WWII, a young man recently discharged from the Army came to visit the Pierces, whom he had known in West Virginia. He came to see what they had found in Colorado and decided he liked it. They introduced him to their now-widowed daughter-in-law, Lola. Lola began seeing Glenn Blevins, and eventually love blossomed and they decided to get married, which they did on October 23, 1946. They lived mainly in north Denver, raising their two daughters in the home they had built there and moved into it in late summer 1952. They remained married for almost 42 years until Glenn’s death on September 1, 1988.

Lola was still working as a secretary when she and Glenn married, but when it was time to start their family, she happily settled into the role of wife and mother. She never had the urge to go back into the working world and felt her most important job was at home. She loved raising her girls. She was active in school events and PTA, serving in various official PTA positions despite her extreme dislike of public speaking or even being in the public eye. She was a leader of a Bluebird group for Linda and a co-leader of Barbara’s Camp Fire group.

Lola used her secretarial skills to help Glenn in his accounting and income tax preparation business for many years. She worked as receptionist, secretary, processer, appointment setter, and coffee and lunch provider year after year. She truly was a pillar of strength during that intense period known as “tax season,” and certainly helped Glenn maintain a successful business that provided a good life for the family.

Lola’s faith always remained strong. Starting with the Methodist church she walked to up the street from her house, to making sure her daughters attended church regularly, too. Since Lola didn’t drive, she had to find a church within walking distance of home, and after trying out a few, she settled into Highland Park Presbyterian Church at 29th and Julian, attending Sunday school and church there for many years. After the girls had moved on, she continued attending church and Sunday school, participating in women’s groups and Bible study, and eventually taking on roles at various times as a deacon, an elder, and treasurer for the church. She was greatly saddened several years ago when the church was unable to continue and disbanded. She maintained friendships with several of the members long after the church ceased its congregation. And she continued to seek spiritual encouragement as she watched some services on television and listened to some on radio. She lived the principles she believed in daily and taught by example how to be good, kind, unselfish, and most of all, loving.

Lola believed her citizenship was a privilege that came with responsibility. Her life spanned 18 different Presidents, and she voted in every presidential election after she was old enough to vote. She remained informed on current topics, local and national, and voted her conscience regardless of party affiliation. She voted for the person she thought best represented her ideals and encouraged others to do the same. She last exercised her civic responsibility to vote in the presidential primary this past spring. She was blessed to not have suffered loss of her mental acumen as she aged. Though sometimes “forgetful,” she was on point most of the time.

In her later years, Lola greatly enjoyed her extended family. She happily marked the arrival of her first great-great-granddaughter by sitting for a photo shoot including all five generations. But every addition was a treasure, and her home contained numerous photos from all of the generations lined up on the mantle, the credenza, the bookshelves, etc. She could tell you who each person was, when the photo was taken, and how old the person was at the time of the photo, as well as how old they were now. She loved seeing everyone’s pictures on Facebook, but especially liked to see the pictures of the babies. They always brought a smile to her face.

Lola was a treasure. She touched the lives of many people, family, friends, church, community. She was kind, gentle, and compassionate. She also had a strong will, some even called her stubborn. She always had an ear to listen. Even if she wasn’t able to solve the problem, just talking things out with her often made them easier to handle on your own. She didn’t blame or ridicule or shame. She encouraged and built you up. She loved a funny story, or a pun or joke, and had a great laugh. Her twinkling blue eyes would dance when she could “get something over” on a loved one.

Lola was many things. Kind. Compassionate. Strong. Independent. Gentle. Faithful. Generous. Her greatest gift was Love. She was the center of her family. Her heart sent ripples out like a stone in a pond, widening out to touch the ever-growing circle of family and friends. She will live on in our hearts and memories always.