Delilah Raymond Cooper Ball Blount passed away on March 12, 2019. She was born the daughter of Elvira Urisarri DePolo Ball and Thomas Raymond Ball and sister of Diana Ball (Korosec) on February 27, 1944 in Old Lyme, CT. Thomas Ball was a former United States Congressman and Connecticut State Assemblyman as well as a renowned local architect. Elivira Ball was the daughter of Harold DePolo, a noted penny novelist in the early part of the 20th century and Helen DePolo. Elvira was known for her beauty and painted by many artists in the New England region.
Thomas Raymond Ball tragically passed away 7 months before Delilah’s birth, however she kept a tight hold on her family history throughout her life. She spent her childhood in Old Lyme and was christened at the First Congretional Church. She was a favorite visitor of the library and had a particular spot she would curl up in that overlooked Library Lane, the street which her house sat a few blocks away. In summers, she would visit Nammy (Helen) and Nampy (Harold) to fish, read and have adventure after adventure. Nampy, Delilah and older sister Diana were famous for their fishing excursions and quite often would arrive home with a prodigious haul of bluefish, smallmouth bass and assorted fish for Nammy to broil or grill.
As a young girl, Delilah’s mother Bunkie (Elvira) moved with the family first to Prescott, AZ where Delilah attended kindergarten and then her family settled in Golden, CO to live closer to her brother Taber DePolo who was attending the Colorado School of Mines and would soon enter the Army Corps of Engineers. A short time later, Bunkie met Cleo Maddox a poker acquaintance of Taber and they were shortly married. Diana and her husband, Hubert Korosec were close by and Dee spent many of her waking hours with them. Delilah went on to attend Golden High School and graduated in 1962. She was known by her classmates to always have a smile, be friendly to everyone and to never miss a day of school, a feat she attained from her first day of kindergarten through her last day of high school. Delilah held the office of Student Body Vice President her Senior Year in addition to membership in the German Club.
After graduating from Golden High School, she matriculated at the University of Colorado in Boulder as a Mathematics major and a Physics minor in preparation to be a teacher. Delilah was known to have a love, and a gift for math and in a different time she lamented that, “10 years later and I would have been pushed to be an engineer, but that wasn’t how it was back then.” The numerous students that Delilah later taught at Huron Junior High, Thornton High School and Front Range Community College would argue vehemently that she made the right choice in being an educator. Her students loved Ms. Blount and the fierce passion she brought to what could be a challenging, boring, difficult, or impossible subject depending on the student.
It should be noted that prior to graduating from CU, Delilah, known now as Dee and married to William Douglas Blount, a classmate from Golden High, gave birth to their first child, daughter Kimberly Cooper Blount during the period for finals. Dee would share with the family, she felt this gave her an advantage as, “I was locked up in bed for 3-4 days and could study in solitary as they actually took the baby away in those days.” With one more year to go, Doug and Dee settled into the many Quonset huts that married students would live in on campus. Tiny living quarters, but she enjoyed the experience looking back as well as the people she met. Her neighbor would later move on to be the President at Grambling State University. Two years later, Dee’s Christmas was interrupted, and she spent Christmas Day in the hospital delivering her twin boys, Kevin Douglas Blount and Kerry Raymond Blount. Once again, she was studying for finals and was able to pass with flying colors due to the un-interrupted study sessions she now loved.
Upon completion of her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, she accepted her first teaching position at Huron Junior High in Northglenn, CO. At the same time, her and husband Doug purchased season tickets at the University of Colorado to attend football games at her beloved institution. This was a notable milestone for Dee, as she maintained those tickets and attended games until her death, some 43 years later. She was a huge CU Buffaloes fan and enjoyed cheering the Buffs Football team on over 43 years during wins, losses and in any weather. She was always in her seat before the kickoff and would stay until the last second ticked off the clock no matter what the score was or what the weather was doing. She was in Miami at the Orange Bowl in 1990 and cheered the Buffs on as they won their National Championship. Delilah was one of the longest tenured season ticket holders at CU and it should be noted that when in the hospital, the Athletic Department sent a get-well-soon card. While at Huron, Dee also coached gymnastics and volleyball, bringing her characteristic optimism and passion. During this time, the family settled in neighboring Thornton, CO and Dee lived in this house the remainder of her life. Ironically, her daughter and boys would attend Merritt Hutton Junior High which was a rival school to Huron where she taught. It should be noted, she always cheered against Huron with vigor when her children’s school competed against Dee’s institution. With Dee’s exuberance, one could always spot Ms. Blount as she was quite outspoken in her support of her children, or favorite sports team, the CU Buffaloes. This love of CU she infused in her kids and attendance at CU football games was a rite of passage for all her children. If there is any milestone in CU Football history, Dee was there in person, or listening on the radio, or watching on television. During this time, Dee went back to school, albeit at rival Colorado State to pursue and be granted her master’s degree in mathematics. She would later add another 60 hours of study toward a Doctorate. Delilah was a wonderful mother and thoroughly enjoyed raising her three kids. She exposed them to a wide range of activities including sports, reading, theater, and the symphony.
After 13 years at Huron Junior high, Dee transferred to Thornton High School in the Fall of 1983, after her daughter graduated and in the same year her twin boys began attending as Sophomores. As teachers noted, it was not uncommon to see the Blount boys stopping in the office and getting keys or lunch money out of her purse. Teaching at the same school, was a blessing and a curse, as she heard any good news, or bad news, quickly. She was a fair, but firm teacher. When preparing tests or quizzes, she would always create three different tests as she felt this would eliminate the temptation for students to cheat. Her tests were notoriously difficult, but she had always prepared her students with in depth review of the subject and never thought of tricking students with tests. She wanted to give them a fair challenge to see if they had learned the material properly. Eventually Dee became the head of the Math Department, which it can be said was a collection of teachers that no institution could have a finer complement. Of her colleagues at Thornton, she said, “The best time of my life, was working with those teachers.” In her position, she was instrumental in Thornton High’s inclusion into the International Baccalaureate program providing students with preparatory coursework for college at a very intensive level. The program continues to this day.
While at Thornton, she moon-lighted at Front Range Community College and enjoyed the interaction with the college students this role provided. It was another way to teach and spread her love of math, and for the most part, these students were very motivated and took every opportunity to maximize their learning, traits that Dee loved. In that time, Kimberly married Douglas Croft and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, Kevin married Wendy Holland and remained in Denver, while Kerry married Lisa Oschener and began his tour of duty in the US Army as a Blackhawk pilot in Germany.
After 33 years of teaching, Dee retired in the Mid-90’s and began her next journey. All three children were married, and her first Grand daughter arrived from Kevin and Wendy Blount, Jordan Alexandra Urissari Blount. She would have a total of 8 Grand-children; Jake (Kimberly/Doug), Kyle Blount (Kevin/Wendy), Casey Blount (Kevin/Wendy), Sydney Blount (Kevin/Wendy), Kory Blount (Kerry/Lisa), Loryn Blount (Kerry/Lisa), Avery Blount (Kerry/Lisa).
Dee found a new passion in genealogy and undertook years of researching her family tree. Through her research, she identified 6 direct ancestors who were on the Mayflower and integral in setting up the Mayflower colony. She identified ancestors in the Revolutionary War, Civil War, First World War and Second World War. She worked diligently and traced her line, with documentation back to Charlemagne and Napoleon III. In her office to this day, there are two full size file cabinets and numerous book cases full of supporting documentation and research to ensure the accuracy of her research. Ultimately, she was granted membership in the Mayflower Society and the Daughters of the American Revolution as were here children.
Attendance at CU Football games continued, and she was a constant attendee at Buff Belles luncheons to meet with athletes and coaches at her most beloved institution. Dee was a common sign for everyone at the program and her smile, as those who had the pleasure of meeting her knew, was infectious. Delilah was also an avid animal lover and took care of many cats and dogs over the years. Her cats and dogs were her family and she was devoted to them.
Dee had not contemplated being a grandmother, let alone a great grandmother, when Jordan Blount, wife of Zachary Torgerson, had Great Granddaughter Delaney Jaye followed by second Great Granddaughter Olivia Grace.
Delilah is survived by daughter Kimberly(Doug Croft), son Kevin(Wendy) Blount, son Kerry Blount; grandchildren Jordan(Zach Torgerson), Kyle Blount, Kory Blount, Casey Blount, Loryn Blount, Avery Blount, Sydney Blount and Jake Croft; great-grandchildren Delaney Torgerson and Olivia Torgerson; sister Diana Korosec, Sister Melissa “Honeybee” Adkinson, brother Mark Maddox; nieces/nephews Katherine Korosec, Tom Korosec, Steve Korosec, David Korosec, Jim Korosec, Joe Korosec, Robert Korosec, William Korosec, Brock Maddox, Elena Adkinson, Kurtis Adkinson; great nieces/nephews Dylan (Caitlyn) Orms, Parker Orms, Thian Nguyen, Jovian Sainz, Colin Maddox, Alexandra Galanti, Robert Styers, ; great-great nephew Nolan Orms
She was preceded in Death by Mother Elvira “Bunkie” DePolo Ball Maddox; Brother Michael Maddox, and nephew Jacob Adkinson.
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