Rozanne Kay David

Rozanne was born July 2, 1943 to Edmund and Marian (Erickson) Putnam in Sioux City, Iowa. She attended Central High School there and was introduced to dance, specifically ballet, during her pre teen years. Ballet would go on to become her passion and life's work. She attributed her love for the dance foremost to her first instructor and mentor Hazel Bergh whom she studied under during her years in Sioux City. Rozanne went on to teach and perform ballet in Omaha, Nebraska for a period then ultimately found herself in Colorado Springs where she opened her own dance school, The School of Dance Arts, in 1977. There she produced and performed in many dance productions including the performing group Fancy Dancers and the dance company Moovin, both of which she started and performed many shows around Colorado Springs in the early 1980s. Along with that, Rozanne wanted to provide a way for her serious dance students to expand their knowledge and training by making it possible to increase the number of classes they could enroll in while providing them more performance experience and in essence preparing them to pursue a dance career. Her creation of Dansaction in 1984, a semiannual dance production, became that vehicle which supported this desire. She now had a scholarship program for her school. This production also gave Rozanne an opportunity to tap into her limitless creativity by writing storylines, setting music, staging, costuming and original choreography as well as titles, artwork, advertising and press releases. This ideal lives on today in the form of DanceQuest presented by The Dance Center of Colorado Springs. Rozanne was also a longtime supporter of and contributor to dance teacher apprenticeship programs because she cared much about the future of the art form toward which the next generation of instructors would carry forward. Rozanne took a brief timeout from teaching dance as her primary endeavor to attain a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs which she received in 1993. Then of course her focus was back to what she was born to do, teach as well as educate about the history of, ballet. She then began teaching and mentoring students at The Dance Center of Colorado Springs where she continued until her retirement in May of 2019.

Rozanne loved walking amongst the flowers and the trees in the forest around her long time home in Black Forest. She is remembered by her family as an exceptionally loving mother and also a close and dear friend to many. Her grandchildren and great grandchildren will remember her as an unfailing source of cheer, support, and fairy stories. Her contagious smile and bright eyes would light up any environment she entered. Her enthusiastic laughter was so recognizable that it will not soon be forgotten. Rozanne was active in the El Paso county democratic party for many years and acted as the precinct chair person for the Black Forest area. She believed that everyone deserved dignity and respect as human beings regardless of heredity, lifestyle or associations and treated everyone accordingly. Rozanne was an avid supporter of the fine arts in Colorado Springs and enjoyed attending events around the state as well, such as dance, music, and museum exhibits. Her favorites being the Colorado Ballet and the Vail Dance Festival.

Rozanne was preceded in death by her parents Edmund and Marian, her beloved sister Sherril Wiltgen of Desoto Iowa. She is survived by her loving husband and life partner of 36 years Thomas Lawlor, son Anthony David, grandson Axel David, granddaughter Stevei Burns of Hesperia, California as well as six great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Care and Share Food Bank For Southern Colorado or to classical radio station KCME. Cards may be sent to Mountain View Mortuary at 2350 Montebello Dr. Colorado Springs CO 80918.