Dorothy Mae (Armagost) Brophy

Dorothy Mae (Armagost) Brophy

Dorothy Mae (Armagost) Brophy was born in the family home just northeast of the town of Eckley, Colorado on May 31, 1929. She died peacefully & quietly at the age of 86 at the nursing home in Yuma, Colorado, January 25, 2016.

Dorothy was the seventh of eight children born to Edith “Pearl” (Miller) & Ralph Beaumont “Pete” Armagost. Her siblings were Jack, Rex, Ralph, Bonnie, Mervin, Jenon & Rosalie “Rosie.” Dorothy grew-up on farms around Eckley before the family moved to town. Throughout her teens, Dorothy worked as a telephone switchboard operator with her sisters, as her dad ran the Eckley telephone company. Dorothy graduated from Eckley High School in 1947. Following graduation, Dorothy attended college in Denver for a time.

On January 30, 1948, Dorothy married James Patrick Brophy V and the young couple began raising crops, cattle & children on several farms northwest of Eckley. On March 13, 1948, Dorothy joined the Catholic Church by receiving the sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation, Communion & Confirmation. Dorothy & Jim were blessed with seven children: Theresa Pearl, James Patrick VI "Rick," Charles Ralph "Chuck," Nora "Kay," Martin Daniel "Marty," Maureen Bernadette & Joni Elizabeth. Rick was stricken with rheumatoid arthritis at the age of two-and-a-half. The disease took the couple to Children’s Hospital in Denver throughout Rick’s childhood. (In recent years, Jim came to the realization Dorothy raised “five sets of twins,” as Rick’s cruel disease demanded every bit of attention as that of a newborn.) In 1960, Dorothy & Jim purchased the “Waters place” (17 miles NE of Yuma) & lived the majority of their married life on the farm they eventually dubbed ‘Rooster Run.’ While juggling caring for the home & the kids, Dorothy gladly helped Jim whenever needed. She happily drove a grain truck, even though she could barely see over the steering wheel. She once even pulled a sugar beet out of the throat of a young steer, as hers was the only arm small enough to fit!

St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Yuma was an integral part of the lives of the Brophy family. Dorothy served as cantor, Eucharistic minister, a member of the Altar & Rosary Society & she helped Jim take communion to the homebound. Dorothy & Jim were actively involved in Catholic Rural Life. They also attended Cursillo & Marriage Encounter. They got so much out of Marriage Encounter that they encouraged and helped many other couples to attend by generously caring for the couples’ children in their home during the Marriage Encounter weekends.

Dorothy & Jim enjoyed being members of the Yuma Squares square dancing club, as well as a long-standing, going-on five decades in-the-running, bridge club with Blachs, Brueggemans, Bushners, Mitchells, Nieslaniks & Seedorfs. Dorothy & Jim were blessed to travel extensively with Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, Northeast Fertilizer & Chemical and on their own. Highlights of their travels were taking the entire family in a motor home to: the Four Corners, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, San Diego, Disneyland, up the coast, into the Redwood Forest & Oregon, visiting relatives along the way; as well as Hawaii; Alaska; Lourdes, France; Rome; Medjugorje, Yugoslavia; the Holy Land during their 50th year of marriage where they renewed their wedding vows at Cana; & four trips to Ireland.

Dorothy was a seemingly tireless taxi service shuttling her kids to dancing & piano lessons, 4-H meetings & sports practices. She graciously hosted many a family party & many a family dinner, and was never surprised when her bachelor brothers-in-law Tom & Rob quietly slipped-in the house at meal times. Her kitchen & dining room tables were the site of too many pitch & bridge games to count. She ground her own flour & baked the most fantastic homemade whole wheat bread & out-of-this-world cinnamon rolls! Her homemade cabbage pockets were incredible & she was famous for her Italian sausage bread ring! Chuck, in particular, was crazy for her homemade cherry crisp. Dorothy found satisfaction in doing a variety of crafts. She always went all-out on craft projects for the annual Altar & Rosary Society Silent Auction. She was a whiz at crossword puzzles. She was a “walking dictionary” who could pull the spelling of seemingly any word out of her head without missing a beat. Dorothy liked bean dip, jigsaw puzzles, honeybuns, solitaire & endless cups of coffee. She was a connoisseur of cinnamon rolls at restaurants. Two of her longstanding mantras were: “If it was a snake, it would’ve bit ya!” & (in reference to kids) “No housecats!” (It was her way of getting kids “out of her hair," while also getting kids out of her way and inadvertently promoting getting fresh air, sunshine & exercise). She frequently told Joni, “You need glasses to find your glasses.” Dorothy enjoyed decorating her home with antiques & she loved going “antiquing.” One of her favorite hobbies was golfing. She played in a ladies' league, as well as in a couples' league with Jim. In 1988, she & Jim moved to the northeast outskirts of Yuma, just down the hill from one of the finest nine-hole golf courses in the state of Colorado. Dorothy happily dubbed their new home 'Brophy's 19th Hole.' She took pride in their new neighborhood & was quick to pick up trash along its roadsides & in its ditches.

Dorothy started every day washed-up, with her make-up on, her hair done & in presentable clothes. The family always had hot meals, fresh laundry, a tidy home, a clean car, & a groomed yard... and she made it all look easy! Dorothy was so proud of raising seven kids! She loved being a farm wife, a mom, a grandma & a great grandma. Dorothy tirelessly gave of herself & cared for others her whole life, until Alzheimer’s disease forced her to allow others to care for her in her final years of life. For the last eight years and five days of her life, she lived first in Hillcrest Care Center in Wray & then in Yuma Life Care Center.

The morning of Monday, January 25 (which was the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul) in the 2016 Jubilee Year of Mercy, Dorothy was told how much Jim loves her, how much her kids & her family love her & she was included in praying the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary. At 12:31 p.m., as two granddaughters kept vigil by her side, Dorothy quietly & peacefully died.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents Pete & Pearl Armagost; her siblings Jack (& wife Dwana (Nation), Rex, Ralph, Bonnie (& husband ‘Ott’ Newton), Mervin (& wife Roberta (Gilbert), Jenon (& husband Dale Harouff), brother-in-law Howard Morgan; father & mother-in-law Jim & Nora (Sullivan) Brophy; in-laws Mary Brophy Church (& husband Frank), Tom Brophy, Agnes Brophy Lauridson (& husband Carl), Judy Brophy (& husbands Hubert Casey & Sid Veto), Paul Brophy, John Brophy (& wife Betty Jo (Spaulding), Jack Eastin, Mary Lou Pickering Reynolds Brophy, Rob Brophy, Charles Brophy, Lorretta Brophy Ralph; and children Rick, Chuck, Kay (Oestman) & grandson James Patrick Brophy VII Colwell. Dorothy is survived by her husband of (just five days shy of) 68 years, Jim, of the couple’s home & their children (all of Yuma County, unless noted): Theresa (Brophy) & sons Patrick Lanser (of Phoenix, AZ & sons Paddy & Donovan), Nicholas Lanser (of Seattle, WA) & Eric Lanser (of Denver), daughter-in-law Peggy Riley Brophy Neb & children Shannon (& Ryan Joseph of Sheridan, WY), Charles Jr., Sheila (& fiance Bryan Rogers), &  Sherelle, son-in-law Terry Oestman & children Molly (Brunk) (& children Braden, Dallas & Maizy Kay), Mark (& wife Dessany (Wiley) & children Ellie, Isabel Kay ‘Izzy’ & Gabriel), Luke (& wife Angela (Muetzel) of Tulsa, Oklahoma & children Gemma, Clara, Charlie, Benjamin, Regina & Damien), Marty & children Jessica Mae & Michael James (of Denver), Maureen & husband Joe Turney of Eureka, Missouri & children Keriann (Siefert)(& husband Cameron Josh & son Ryker), Erin Elizabeth (Siefert) (& husband Bret Lewellen & sons Ryan & Jack of Camp Point, Illinois), Dan Siefert (& wife Teresa (Houser) & children Adrianna & James Patrick of Eureka, Missouri), Mary Dorothy & Bridget Theresa, and Joni & husband Tom Colwell Jr. of Atchison, KS & children Kate (& husband Doug Petroskey of Overland Park, KS), Tom III (& wife Mallory (Tillet) of Wamego, KS), Mary, Nora Maureen & Margaret Mae; sister “Rosie” Morgan; in-laws Pat (Kelly) Brophy, Betty Brophy Eastin Shapard, Des Brophy, Bill Ralph; a host of favorite nieces & nephews & numerous friends. Dorothy will be fondly remembered & greatly missed by all who knew & loved her.

The worst blizzard in Yuma County (so far) of the 2015-16 season hit the day of Dorothy’s vigil, Monday, Feb. 1, the Feast of St. Bridget of Ireland. Her Mass of Christian Burial was Tuesday, Feb. 2, the Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord. Both were held at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Yuma. Grandchildren Mark & Luke Oestman & Molly (Oestman) Brunk led a scriptural rosary at the vigil. Fr. Jonathan Dellinger was the celebrant of Dorothy’s Mass of Christian Burial. Due to the blizzard, Dorothy’s burial was postponed until Wednesday, Feb. 3, the Feast of St. Blaise. Interment was at the Yuma Cemetery. Baucke Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements. Memorials are preferred.