Willa Dee van Zandt

Willa Dee Van Zandt, 96, passed away peacefully of natural causes on July 11, 2023 at her home. Willa Dee was born February 27, 1927 and lived in Pueblo, CO until moving to Grand Junction in 2013. She spent her childhood living a farm lifestyle in rural Pueblo County during the Great Depression and graduated from Pueblo Junior College with an Associate of Arts degree in Business/Journalism. Some of her employers were C.F.&I., Western Pipe and Tube, and Pueblo Diversified Industries. Willa Dee was very active in several Pueblo community organizations over the years including, Handi Caps and Pals, (founding member and president), Easter Seals (chairwoman), Motor Chair Foundation, (Charter President) Pueblo County Crippled Children and Adults (Secretary), Pueblo Jaycettes (President) and Mayor’s Committee. She was a proud, lifetime member of Beta Sigma Phi and served as President.

Willa Dee was very caring, sweet, intelligent, humble, and generous. Her loving character was exemplified by the numerous friendships she had and how much her family members adored her. Dee was also very organized and made her home a beautiful, warm, and comforting place to be. We will especially miss Christmas and Thanksgiving at Grandma Dee’s house. She was hardworking and successful at meeting the high-demand domestic duties of the 50’s and 60’s while also successfully working to support her three children and serving her community. Dee was always fashionably dressed and looking beautiful. She remained resilient and caring through times of emotional and physical hardship and was always compassionate and empathetic to the struggles of others.

Later in life when she married Bert, they enjoyed square dancing, watching sports, and playing piano. She was an active member of the Church of Divine Science in Pueblo and liked to sing in church choirs. Bert and Dee loved Autumn and “Color Sundays” in the mountains. They were wonderful grandparents. She always spoke highly of Bert and loved and missed him very much.

Dee was preceded in death by her loving husband, Bert Van Zandt in 2000, her parents, William H. Welch and Esther Welch, and brother Charles Welch, all of Pueblo. She is survived by her loving children, Randy Berry, Delta, Vicki (Duncan) Rowley, Grand Junction and Scott (Victoria) Berry of Colorado Springs; Her grandchildren, Ashley Rowley, David (Talya) Rowley and Austin (Samantha) Greenwood of Colorado Springs; and her cousins, Tracy Andrews, Holly Andrews Miller, California, Sandy (Warren) Diodosio, Pueblo, and Clifford (D.J.) Wells, Mississippi.

We will all miss Dee’s loving presence in our lives very much.

Services will be announced and held in Pueblo at a later time.

If you wish, donations can be made in her honor to Hope West in Grand Junction, or a charity of your choice.