Obituary of Marcene Straub

Marcene Helen Losey was born on May 13, 1925 at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Denver, Colorado. She was the first daughter of Edna Eyser Losey and Percy Louis Losey and had a younger sister, Lorene Janet Blanchard. She grew up in Denver and attended Barnum Elementary School and graduated from Garden Home High School. She married Douglas Lehnhoff Straub on Feb. 14, 1948 and moved to Flagler, Colorado. To this marriage, three children were born – Susan Jane, Douglas Lehnhoff Jr. and Richard Losey. In 1961 Marcene graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a BA in Elementary Education and began teaching school in Arriba and later in Flagler. In 1963, she and her family moved to Limon due to the closing of the Flagler Hospital. The family moved to allow Doug to continue to help his brother, Dr. John C. Straub, operate a medical clinic in Limon. Marcene continued her teaching career in Limon at the elementary school. Later on she also became the media specialist for the elementary school library. She retired in 1990. After her retirement, she had the opportunity to live near each of her children and their families. In 1992 she moved to Parker, Colorado to be near daughter, Susan Straub Shea, and family, later in 2000 to move to Orion, Illinois to be with son, Richard Straub, and family, followed by a move to Lincoln, Nebraska in 2008 to be with her son, Lehn, and his family. She lived her remaining years in Lincoln, Nebraska and passed away on July 15, 2010. Funeral Services were held at the Limon United Methodist Church on July 21, 2010 with internment following at the Flagler Cemetery. Marcene received many awards and commendations for her contributions to education. She was recognized by the Colorado Board of Education as an outstanding educator and media specialist in 1987. She also received an award from BOCES that same year as an outstanding Hi Plains Educator. She served as the President of the Limon Education Society from 1974 to 1975. Her other professional affiliations included being a member of Delta Kappa Gamma Honorary Society and president of the Lincoln County Historical Society. In addition to working as an outstanding educator, she also dedicated time to help run the Limon Memorial Library. She served on the board of the Library and was president when a tornado brought considerable damage to the town in 1990. As a result of the damage, the library building needed to be relocated. Marcene was instrumental in raising money and leading the efforts to move the library to its current location in the downtown section of Limon. She was given the Distinguished Service Award by the Colorado Library Association in 1993 because of her leadership. She also served as president of the Plains and Peaks Regional Library System and the Lincoln County Bookmobile Board. Her faith guided her life and she was an active member of the Limon United Methodist Church, the Parker United Methodist Church and the Orion United Methodist Church. She again used her talents to set up and run libraries in the Parker and Orion churches. Marcene is survived by her children, Susan and her husband, Charles Shea, of Tucson, Arizona, Lehn and his wife, Mary, of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Richard and his wife, Deborah, of Orion, Illinois. She leaves behind seven grandchildren – Heather Shea Gasser and her husband, Raymond, Ryan Charles Shea and wife, Kimberly, Douglas L. Straub III, Edward Hunter Straub, Mitchell Harris Straub and wife, Samantha, Brian Matthew Straub, and Nathan Andrew Straub. Her three great-grandchildren, Elias Lennon Gasser, Dylan Sawyer Gasser, and Spencer Charles Shea were her pride and joy. She was a wonderful mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.