Edith M. Hinkle
July 30, 1948 - January 18, 2008
Edith Michelle Hinkle, 59, of Colorado Springs passed away unexpectedly on January 18, 2008. She was born July 30, 1948 in Medford, Oregon to Walter Joseph Paul and Verna LaMurle (Beck) Reinking.
She married the love of her life, Wayne Lee Hinkle, on October 17, 1964. Edie was the Executive Director of Bridges Child Placement Agency.
Edie is survived by her husband, Wayne; son, Michael W. Hinkle and his family; son, Gregory R. Hinkle and his family; six grandchildren; and thousands of foster children whose lives she touched.
Services will be held on Thursday, January 24, at 1 p.m. at Pikes Peak Christian Church, 4955 Bradley Road with burial at Evergreen Cemetery.
James Blaine Bruce
August 10, 1919 - January 14, 2008
 James Blaine Bruce was born on August 10, 1919 in a tent in Eastland TX, west of Fort Worth.
Jim’s father, Blaine Bruce, was an oil rigger or “rough neck.” There were no stores or facilities in the oil boom town. The family left Texas and went to Augusta, KS for another oil boom. When Jim was only 4, his father was killed by a train coming into the oil fields. His mother, Charlotte, remained and Jim started school. When Charlotte remarried William “Bill” Henry Koons, they moved to Muleshoe, TX along with several new siblings. The whole family lived in a box car.
“Times were hard back then,” Jim’s surviving wife, Ardith Bruce, explained.
As a child he made extra money hunting and fishing, and selling rabbits for a quarter a piece.
James graduated from Augusta High School and returned to New Mexico. He began a life of ranching with his brother-in-law, Mose, and farmed for .50 cents per day.
He joined the National Guard Cavalry in Clovis, NM, where he trained and worked with mules and horses, and studied marksmanship.
In 1941, Jim enlisted in the Navy. He trained at the Great Lakes Naval Station and went on the USS North Hampton in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and served as a Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class. At that time, Jim volunteered to go on the USS Oklahoma just three days before the Japanese struck. Jim was on board when the Oklahoma overturned. He would later tell the tale, remembering being in the oil-filled water waiting for a rescue boat.
Jim returned to the North Hampton. He was with 18 of 21 major Pacific campaigns.
On November 30, 1942 the North Hampton sank during the Guadalcanal campaign. He helped keep a fellow sailor afloat as they swam all night amid burning oil and wreckage. The next day Jim realized his crewmate had passed away in his arms. They’d been in the water for approximately 12 hours before Jim was rescued around noon the next day.
He received multiple medals and awards for service including the Purple Heart.
Jim met his future wife, Ardith, in Missouri after his discharge from the Navy. He courted Ardith when not working crops in TX, and returned to Missouri to help Ardith’s family with their lumber mill.
The couple married on March 19, 1949 in Mountain Home, Arkansas and would have marked their 59th anniversary this year.
The couple moved to Farwell, TX in mid-June of 1949 and lived in a one-room bunkhouse and worked on a horse, cattle and crop ranch.
Eventually, the Bruces moved to Colorado on January 1, 1952 to the H Dale Miller Ranch, which was then five miles south of Colorado Springs.
Jim became a lineman for the Intermountain Rural Electrification Association (IREA), bringing electricity to ranches and homes that had never had electricity.
It was dangerous work, but it was the sort of work Jim preferred. In fact, one of Jim’s proudest accomplishments was when he worked on the spires on the AF Academy Chapel. Ardith never heard Jim complain about the hard work of climbing poles to repair lines in sub-zero temperatures long before cherry-pickers made the job easier.
Another source of pride was his son Stevan Daniel “Dan” Bruce, a lifelong Fountain resident.
Other proud moments included the first time he held his grandchildren Amber and Spencer. He loved his grandchildren, and taught them to have nothing but good things to say about others and to not be complainers- but appreciate what they had.
Taking his son and grandson hunting and fishing for the first time were also cherished memories.
Jim supported his wife in her passion for competitive barrel racing. Ardith’s success on a national level was a great source of pride for Jim, and he often helped with training.
After finishing work on the Chapel, Jim took on work as a civil service electric lineman on Ft. Carson, retiring in 1985.
“Every job he had, he was grateful to have,” Ardith related.
Jim and Ardith moved to Texas in the years between ’85 and ’92. In August of 1992, Jim fell off a roof and broke his neck in three places.
“The tough old geezer wouldn’t let us call an ambulance,” Ardith related, and the family loaded him in a truck and drove him to Memorial Hospital.
Tough men like Jim may seem impervious to pain, however, Jim’s son, Dan remarked, “They do feel pain, but they go on ahead and do what they gotta do anyway.”
While he was never actively involved in politics, except to vote, he had a great interest in government and democracy and who the president was going to be.
Being a great outdoorsman he was a lifelong member of the NRA, the Pikes Peak Firearms Coalition, VFW Post 6461 in Fountain as well as the Fountain Riding & Ropinng Club.
Jim is survived by his loving wife, Ardith, a son, Dan Bruce; and a foster daughter, Debbie Thompson (and husband, Link) and their son Powder, of Gordon, Nebraska. Also surviving are grandchildren Spencer, in Libby, Montana; and Amber West in Phillip, SD (and her husband, Zach); great-grand-children Jaycie and Eastan West. He is also survived by a step-brother, Chester H. Koons and several nieces and nephews.
Jim was preceded in death by his parents, Blaine and Charlotte Bruce, his oldest and only sibling, Nina Mae Bruce Glasscock; step-sister, Florene Burch; step-brother, William “Bill” Koons; step-sister, Pearl Koons and many beloved nieces and nephews.
“No one loved the USA more than Jim. He was our country’s hero and our hero too!” ~ Ardith Bruce
“It’s been quite a party, Dad. Thanks!”
Final to crem-ation, military Memorial services will be held at the VFW 6461 on Feb. 2 at 11 a.m. on S. Santa Fe near the Fairview Cemetery, with a reception to follow.
In Jim’s memory, contributions may be mailed in or dropped off on behalf of the Fountain Ambulance Service at:
Fountain Fire Department, 212 N. Santa Fe Ave., Fountain, CO 80817 (or call 382-7800 to make arrangements.)
James Cleties Reed
September 1, 1927 - January 16, 2008
 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord; whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
-Romans 14, 7-8
James Cleties Reed was born to the late Holsey and Earma (Davenport) Reed, September 1, 1927, in Mt. Pleasant, Texas.
Reed graduated from Booker T. Washington High School as the class president in 1946. On October 5, 1952, he was married to Ora D. Jackson. The union lasted over 45 years until she preceded him in death in 1996.
Reed spent over twenty-one years in the military retiring in 1973. As a successful businessman he owned and operated Colossal Cleaning Services for thirty years.
Reed was a faithful, devoted and active member of the Lakeside Church of Christ, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Reed slipped away on Wednesday, January 16, 2008. He leaves to cherish his memory four sons, Ronald W. Reed, Austin, TX; Gerald R. Reed, Manassas, VA; Reginald K. Reed, Widefield, CO; Haywood C. Reed, Dallas, TX; one daughter, Patricia L. Hicks, Aurora, CO; two brothers, Florence Brannon, Jr., Mount Pleasant, TX; and Michael Tumey, Tulsa, OK; one sister, Louise Malone, Houston, TX; thirteen grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and a host of other relatives and friends.
Viewing was January 21 at Dove-Witt Family Mortuary, Fountain. The Funeral Service was January 22,at Lakeside Church of Christ, Colorado Springs.
Shirley Wagner (Nail)
December 3, 1934 - January 14, 2008
 Shirley Wagner (Nail) passed away January 14, 2008 at her home in Security, south of Colorado Springs, at the age of 73.
Mrs. Wagner was born December 3, 1934 in Sunbury, Pennsylvania to John W. and Mary (Corbin) Nail.
Mrs. Wagner is survived by her husband of over 50 years, Marlin (Ed) Wagner; her children, Marla Reynolds (and Ronald), Cathy Downing (and Butch), Natalie Ann Wagner (and Alan Goin), Melissa Smith (and William Gorman) and Kevin Wagner (and Carolyn); ten grandchildren, Donna Rumfield, Tommy Rumfield, Christopher Noble, Tabitha Holzinger, Andrew Downing, Austin Downing, Catelyn Wagner, Jonathan Wagner, Gabriella Wagner and Joseph Wagner; and great-grandchildren, Nathan Gonzales, Cody Gonzales, Dolph Rumfield, Randal Rumfield, Sebastian Noble and Cole Dakota Noble.
She was preceded in death by her parents, a sister, and a brother.
She was active in many organizations including North Elementary PTA; volunteer for the Boy Scouts of America (29 years); Girl Scouts of America (25 years); The Order of Eastern Star, where she served as Worthy Matron two times; the Order of the Amaranth and the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, where she was a recipient of the Order of the Grand Cross of Color.
Memorial services were January 19 at Dove-Witt Fountain Valley Chapel, Fountain. An Eastern Star service was also held.
Donations in Mrs. Wagner’s memory may be given to St. John’s United Methodist Church , Sunbury, PA; Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, Security; the Order of Eastern Star; Pikes Peak Hospice or a charity of your choice.
|
