Vesta O Orrino

Vesta Orrino died on Friday, April 22, 2011 in Denver, Colorado at the age of 88. Vesta will always be remembered by her family for her determined resilience, her fierce loyalty to and love for her family, and – especially – for her unparalleled sense of humor. There was never a joke that she did not get, and never a one-liner that she could not trump with her own marvelous wit.

Vesta was born August 16, 1922 in Hastings, Iowa, to a family that eventually included a total of five children. Gordon, the youngest child, died at the age of 5. While still a little girl, her parents – Ollie and Elsie Osmon – moved the family to Colorado when Ollie went to work for the railroad.

The family first settled in Deer Trail, a tiny town where Vesta attended school in a one-room schoolhouse, sometimes wearing the dress her mother had made her out of a potato sack. Her parents often worked on a sheep farm, and especially during the peak spring months of sheering and lambing, Vesta and her siblings were often left in the care of friends in Deer Trail while their parents were away earning money.

Eventually the family moved to Denver where Vesta attended West High School. She graduated at the age of seventeen in 1939.

Her first job was at the Victory Theater in downtown Denver. She worked at the theater selling tickets in the box office. Down the street from the box office was a flower shop whose owner used to bring a gardenia to each box office girl at the end of each evening. Occasionally, Vesta would end her day swing dancing in a night club or at Elitch Gardens. She was quite a good dancer, too; Vesta won a fair share of dance competitions in her day!

Vesta met her husband, Bill, at the theater. They married when Vesta was eighteen years old. One year later, in 1942, Vesta gave birth to her first son, Gary. Six years later, Cindy was born.

Bill and Vesta worked very hard in the dry cleaning business. When Cindy was three or four years old they bought their own dry cleaning business on South Broadway. They lived in the back of business, where Vesta used to give Cindy a bath in the kitchen sink.

The family and the business eventually moved to Lakewood, where Tim and Mark were born.

It wasn’t until she was about fifty years old that Vesta applied for a job working for the State as a timekeeping clerk. Knowing that she would be asked to take a test as part of the application and interview process, Vesta agonized over how to best study. Tim recalls trying to teach algebra to her to no avail, but it turned out that the test was less difficult than she anticipated: she breezed right through it and was hired.

She retired from her job with the State fifteen years later at the age of 65, but not before being honored by Governor Romer for outstanding achievement as a state employee. Always as humble as she was capable, Vesta did not tell any of her children about the award – or even about the retirement party thrown in her honor – until they saw the plaque hanging on her wall.

After retiring, Vesta lived on her own, always taking care of herself and never asking for anything. Her self-reliance was a tribute to her love for her family: she was always more worried about the comfort, safety, health, and happiness of her children, grandchildren, and great and great-great-grandchildren than she was for her own needs.

Everywhere she went Vesta left a strong and loving impression, never failing to make new friends. She was truly a lovable soul. She was always quick to share her faith, her sense of humor, and her encouragement with the people she encountered.

She is preceded in death by her sisters, Pauline Bunch, Hazel Howes, and Vivian Bunch, and by her brother, Gordon Osmon. She is survived by four children: Gary Orrino, Cindy Levin, Timothy Orrino, and Mark Orrino; ten grandchildren: Tammy Orrino, Ted Orrino, Mike Greenburg, Kent Greenburg, Paige Adams, Candace Joice, Charlotte Orrino, Anthony Orrino, Bruce Muhe, and Brett Levin; three great-grandchildren: David Colthart, Jessica Ward, and Mandee Procell; and one great-great-grandchild, Samuel Procell. In lieu of sending gifts or flowers, the family members would like to suggest making a donation to the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado in memory of Vesta. You can do so at https://biacolorado.org/donate.