Obituary of Violet Smithburg

View Video Tribute Violet Elaine Smithburg was born Violet Elaine Sheldon in Kearney, NE on March 18, 1926, the ninth of twelve children and the youngest of the four daughters born to Earl & Pearl Sheldon. Violet’s childhood was spent on the family farm near Kearney, NE and going to the local schools. She helped pick, load, and sell the sweet corn that was part of the crops raised on that farm, with the help of her brothers and sisters. The weeks of sweet corn were the result of staggered plantings, and those days would begin long before daylight. Her Dad wanted the loaded cars, with freshly scrubbed and clothed kids along, in the delivery towns by 8:00 a.m., so the entire family could go door to door selling the fresh sweet corn. The highlight of each of these days was the chance to eat lunch at a restaurant, which did not happen with a family this large very often. Violet, as the youngest of the girls, was allowed to help her Mother with the cooking, baking, and cleaning from the early age of 11 when her older sisters no longer lived at home. Her early efforts at baking cakes, pies, etc where always met with a “This tastes just fine!â€? from her Mother, whether or not she had made a mistake or not! Feeding a family of fourteen, along with some guests at each meal meant lots and lots of potatoes needed peeling, which Violet did not particularly like to do, so sometimes she cooked the potatoes with the skin on, except for her Dad’s, which had to be FRIED for every meal. This encouragement and experience with her Mom taught Violet to become a very good cook and baker the rest of her life. Entertainment for so large a family was going to the circus when it was in town, ball games, and carnivals. Since their home was near the tracks, they were often one of the first to see when the circus came to town on the trains, and would go watch the elephants raise the big top. After graduating from High School in Kearney, Violet spent the years from 1943 to 1948 living and working in Portland, OR; San Francisco, CA; Redding, CA; Wyoming; and Oklahoma City, OK. She was in San Francisco at the end of WWII, and remembered the joyous celebrations that took over both the city and the country at this great news. In 1949, Violet married Nyle Bryant in Helena, MT. Nyle was a construction superintendent who had been raised on a ranch in Rozet, WY. Their life following the project sites led them to Minot, ND, where the winter temperatures were a balmy 0 to -25 F; to Yakima, WA, where they were involved with forestry; and to Trenton, NE. Nyle was killed in a construction accident at this time. Violet spent the summer of 1951 in Kearney, NE, and then moved to Denver, CO with her sister Dorethea. Violet met Bill Judd in Denver, and they were married in March of 1953. They were married for 19 years, divorcing in 1972. During that time they lived on a farm in southeast Colorado, 22 miles south of Holly, CO. In 1961 Violet and Bill adopted Curtis Lee, and then adopted Brenda Marie in 1963. This is also the time when Violet learned how to play golf, which became a lifelong hobby for her along with the playing of bridge that she had learned when younger. Violet moved to Pueblo West, CO with Curtis and Brenda in 1972, where she worked at the Pueblo West Country Club Pro Shop and continued to play golf in tournaments all over the state. While out with some of her golfing friends in Limon, CO during a golf tournament, Violet met Howard Smithburg of Genoa, CO. They were both very impressed with each other, which led to them dating and finally getting married on January 25, 1973. Violet and Howard were a strong team working on the family farm and ranch that had been started by Howard’s father in 1905. Together they completed the raising of Curtis and Brenda and seeing them off to their lives as adults, as well as raising crops and ranching a bit. Violet taught Howard to play golf despite the fact that Howard didn’t have time for “that foolishnessâ€?, and they spent many a fun afternoon chasing the pill around the pasture! During the 1980’s Howard and Violet began spending their winters in Arizona and they eventually had a home there, which allowed them to play golf year round, and to stay warm during the cold eastern Colorado plains winters. After nearly 20 years of wintering in Arizona, they had a home built in Limon, CO in 2005 and sold their home in Arizona. Violet always had flowers growing and blooming, whether in the hot lands of Southeast Colorado or Arizona, or the more temperature climate in Limon and Genoa, and liked having a ‘barefoot’ lawn on which to relax and entertain. Violet was always involved with her local church, having been raised in the Christian Church in Kearney, NE, and joining the Genoa United Methodist Church when she and Howard were married. Both of her children were in choir while in high school and Violet took great enjoyment in listening to all kinds of music, both within the church and in everyday life. Violet’s early years growing up on the family farm and learning the value of good work done well followed her throughout her life, through good times and hard times, and she in turn passed those values on to her children and grandchildren, all while treating all the people she met with respect and dignity. These values brought out the best in her family, her friendships, and even of total strangers throughout her life, and one of her most cherished memories was of being able to stay involved with farming and to raise her family in a farming community strong in values and Christian ethics. Violet quietly and peacefully left us on January 29, 2009, and is survived by her husband of 36 years, Howard Smithburg; her son Curtis Judd and his wife Katherine and children Jenna, Celton, and Meaghan, of Aurora, CO; by her daughter Brenda Higgins and her husband John and children Ashley, and Layne, of Genoa, CO; by her sister Dorethea Griffith and husband Walter (Griff) of Flint, MI; by her brothers Leon Sheldon and wife Joyce of Webster City, IA; Stanley Sheldon and wife Marjorie of Webster City, IA; Carroll Sheldon of Kearney, NE; Sidney Sheldon of Kearney, NE; Darroll Sheldon and wife Barb of Alamogordo, NM; and by numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Earnest Earl Sheldon and Viola Pearl Byerley Sheldon, and by her siblings Floyd Earnest Sheldon, Merl Edward Sheldon, Beulah Ione Sheldon Brust, Verna Mildred Sheldon Sands, and Harold Claude Sheldon. Services will be held for Violet E. Smithburg Monday, February 2, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. Rev.’s Frank & Linda Hoover presided over the service at the Genoa United Methodist Church, Genoa, CO. Pallbearers were Harry Hansen, Harry Thompson, Johnny Hollowell, Barry Hollowell, Ed Rohrbaugh, Bob Miller. Charles Pierce sang How Great Thou Art and For Those Tears I Died, accompanied by Shirley Rohrbaugh. Visitation will be held from 1-4pm Sunday ~ February 1, 2009 at the Love Funeral Home. Memorial contributions may be made to the Lincoln Community Home Health and Hospice P.O. Box 248 Hugo, Colorado 80821