OBITUARIES

BUNCH Anita Louise (Williams) Bunch

June 30, 1940 - March 23, 2023

Anita Louise Williams Bunch was born in a motel on Route 66, on the road with her parents Billy and Helen and her big sister Marcia, and that was just the extraordinary start of an extraordinary life. For nearly 83 years, she threw herself headlong and headstrong into good works, idealism, fun, love, spiritual seeking, friendship, fellowship, sports, her family, and a deep, passionate compassion for the whole world. As her beloved daughter Amy put it, “She lived her whole life truly larger than life & rode it til the wheels fell o .” It was her good fortune that the wheels fell o quickly over the course of a few short weeks, when several health problems came together in a rapid storm that gave her enough time to tell those dearest to her “I love you OUT LOUD,” before she slipped into peace and nal rest in the comforting arms of her daughter and grandsons.

Everyone who knew her says they were lucky to know her: her Central Missouri State College sorority sisters and her fellow travelers from the People to People Student Ambassador Program in college, her Kansas City students from when she taught PE there in the 1960s, her vast Evergreen community, her Friendship Bridge colleagues raising funds for microloans to support female group of plants or theme.

COLUMN entrepreneurs in Guatemala, her fellow sta at Pepsi Center/Ball Arena and Broncos Stadium and all the fans (of the teams AND Anita!), and her family—oh, how her family will always love her and be blessed by her love for them! We are so lucky!

Anita was preceded in death by her parents, William “Binky” Williams and Helen Nibarger, and her daughter Molly. She is survived by her daughter Amy and grandsons Marcus, Draecyn, and DJ, her sister Marcia, her nephew Greg (Eileen) and great nephews Dylan (Molly) and Madison (Ady), and greatgreat niece and nephews Myia, True, and Sterling. We were so lucky to be loved by her, and we will miss her forever.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 on ursday, April 20 in the Club Level at Empower Field at Mile High (aka Broncos Stadium).

In lieu of owers, memorial donations can be made either online at: https://www. friendshipbridge.org/donate/ or mailed to Friendship Bridge, 405 Urban St, Suite 140, Lakewood CO 80228. Anita was a team member, volunteer, friend, guiding light, and loved one of Friendship Bridge for over 25 years. Please be sure to include Anita’s name with your donation.

Jennifer Neale

April’s EcoQuest has two parts: the rst is focused on some of the rst owers to emerge in spring, the pasque owers (Pulsatilla nutalliana). en, starting April 28, a global competition begins with the start of the City Nature Challenge - a challenge to document the most biodiversity within cities. Using the iNaturalist app, you can make observations of any wild organism: plant, bird, insect, fungi. Observations made between April 28 and May 1 count towards the competition. Last year, we had nearly 400 participants observe more than 600 species. Our goal is to surpass those numbers this year. And, if the wet winter unfolds into a sunny spring, we just might be able to do it. Many local partners are organizing hikes or bioblitzes during the City Nature Challenge. Check our website (botanicgardens.org/ science-research/citizen-scienceprograms/city-nature-challenge) for details on events and how to register.

You can contribute to scienti c studies by downloading the iNaturalist app and using it to take photos of the nature around you. We encourage you to get outside, feel the sun on your face and contribute to science while you’re out there.

Denver Botanic Gardens Citizen Science projects: botanicgardens. org/science-research/citizen-science-programs

Denver EcoFlora project: inaturalist.org/projects/denver-eco oraproject

Denver Botanic Gardens City Nature Challenge information: Denver-Boulder Metro City Nature Challenge: https://www.inaturalist. org/projects/city-nature-challenge2023-denver-boulder-metro

Jennifer Neale is the director of research and conservation for the Denver Botanic Gardens

Samuel Douglas Smith (Sam) was born in Greenville, Alabama to Mary Brunson Smith and Maxwell Romaine Smith. e family moved to the Atlanta area and Sam grew up in Decatur, and attended Druid Hills High School where he was elected President of the Student Body. On to Georgia Tech and a Ramblin’ Wreck for life, Sam was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Management from Tech and two Masters Degrees in Business Administration from Georgia State University. September of 1967 brought graduation, commissioning as an Ensign in USNR and a wedding all in the same week. He served aboard the USS Shelton (DD-790) stationed in San Diego during the Viet Nam con ict.

After being discharged from the Navy, the family returned to Atlanta and Sam began a 36 year career with the Federal Reserve Bank System - 12 years in Atlanta and 24 years with the Cleveland bank. Residing in Hudson, Ohio, Sam served in numerous capacities at e First Congregational Church of Hudson and at the Country Club of Hudson where he pursued his passion for golf. He also chaired the board of Beech Brook, an organization in Cleveland helping children and families thrive by promoting healthy child development.

Retiring in 2007, the family moved to Evergreen, Colorado where Sam enjoyed mountain living at it’s best! Sam held leadership positions in Art for the Mountain Community (now Sculpture Evergreen), Evergreen Rotary and Rockland Community Church. A move to Longmont in 2018 meant no longer living in the mountains, but enjoying panoramic views of the front range and involvement in Longmont Rotary and Boy Scout committees.

Sam is survived by his wife of 55 years, Linda Settle Smith, Daughter and delight of his life, Jennifer Asbury, son-in-law Scott Asbury and adored grandaughter Audrey Asbury of Niwot, Colorado, brother George Smith and sister-in-law, Leslie Ireland of Vienna, Virginia, brother-in-law Gary Settle and sister-in-law Connie Settle, of Ponte Vedra, Florida, nieces, nephew, great nieces and nephews, cousins and his English Setter, Sigma. Sam leaves a legacy of service and leadership, courage and enduring love for family and friends.

Memorial contributions can be made to Longmont Rotary, P.O. Box 272, Longmont, CO 80502 or Center for the Arts Evergreen, 31800 Rocky Village Drive, Evergreen,CO 80439 .

Services will be held at Grace Commons Church, Boulder, Colorado On SaturdayApril 15th at 1;00 in the afternoon.

Free parking on 15th and Canyon Blvd in the Parking Garage.

Eight long weeks

CONIFER – Parked and pristine in the evening, by morning Jennie Jeep’s jalopy sported four 6-inch scratches on the left rear panel and a nasty 2-foot gouge on the tailgate. Since the vehicle hadn’t ventured outside of the garage between sundown and sunup, Jennie suspected an inside job, and the only person inside besides her was her no-good roommate, Max. Max has always been a jerk, she told deputies, but last night he’d been particularly “loud and disruptive” and, she assumed, destructive. Max denied everything, of course, and was quick to remind nobody in particular that he still had two months left on his lease and he intended to use both of them. Unable to prove it was Max who marred her machine, Jennie could only settle for an o cial report and comfort in the knowledge that Max didn’t have three months left on his lease.

Air-abica

BERGEN PARK – e complainant was cruising the supermarket

HAPPENINGS

We’d like to know about events or activities of interest to the community. Visit www.canyoncourier.com/ calendar/ and post your event online for free. Email dbrobst@coloradocommunitymedia.com to get items in the print version of the paper. Items will appear in print on a space-available basis.

THURSDAY parking lanes looking for an empty berth. e Nissan pickup truck was anchored mid-strait, in no apparent hurry to get back underway.

All In Ensemble performance: All In Ensemble, a new theater company launching in Evergreen, will o er its premier performance at 7 p.m. ursday, April 13, at Congregation Beth Evergreen, 2981 Bergen Peak Drive, Evergreen. e performance is free and open to the public. It will feature a showcase from two acting classes: dramatic improvisation and American Jewish playwrights.

Evergreen chamber mixer: e Evergreen Area Chamber of Commerce’s monthly mixer will be from 5-7 p.m. April 13 at Flow eory, CoWorks & Best Custom Homes, 3540 Evergreen Parkway. For more information and to register, visit evergreenchamber.org.

According to Complainant’s statement of March 16, after a polite and generous interval he got out of his car and approached the motionless hulk, cordially suggesting to Nissan should either park or move along. Nissan did neither, instead “yelling and screaming” in decidedly salty fashion and pitching “a glass co ee bottle at my head.” Located a few miles to the south, Nissan remembered the encounter quite di erently, telling o cers that he’d simply been waiting for a space to open up when Complainant suddenly loomed in his window breathing re and spitting bullets. “I threw my co ee cup on the ground and drove away,” he shrugged. Informed of Nissan’s competing narrative, and admitting that “it would be hard to prove” that Nissan was aiming “at my head,” Complainant concluded that a few words of counsel would su ce. Deputies told Nissan to cool his jets. Nissan promised to keep his

TUESDAY

Fire department consolidation community meetings: e three 285 Corridor re departments — Elk Creek, Inter-Canyon and North Fork — deciding whether to consolidate will host community meetings for the public. e meetings will be 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, April 18, at Elk Creek Station 1, 11993 Blackfoot Road, Conifer; 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, April 25, at Inter-Canyon Station 3, 8445 U.S. 285, Morrison; 3-5 p.m. Saturday, May 6, at North Fork Station 1, 19384 County Road 126, Bu alo Creek; 3-5 p.m. Saturday, May 13, at Elk Creek Station 1, 11993 Blackfoot Road, Conifer; and 3-5 p.m. Saturday, May 20, at Inter-Canyon Station 3, 8445 U.S. 285, Morrison.

Meeting on Highway 73 improvements: Je erson County will host a meeting from 5:30-7:30 p.m. April 18 on the planned improvements to Highway 73 between Bu alo Park Road and Plettner Lane just south of downtown Evergreen. e meeting will be in the Evergreen High School library. For more information and a link to watch the meeting virtually, visit Je erson County Roadway Projects at www.arcgis.com.