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Oscar F. Haake, Jr.

May 2, 1930 – February 3, 2022 Oscar Fred Haake Jr. was called home to his Lord February 3rd, 2022 after living a full life as son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, greatgrandfather, uncle, soldier, neighbor, and friend. Oscar was born in St. Louis County, Missouri on May 2nd, 1930 to Oscar and Ruth (Brase) Haake Sr. As a child his parents moved to Nashville, Illinois where they grew their family, adding sister Darlene and brother Ron to the family. In 1946, Oscar Sr and Ruth moved the family to Colorado and started farming two mile west of Brighton on Highway 7. e Brighton farm originally consisted of 160 acres and a few dairy cows. Oscar was drafted into the Army for the Korean War in September 1951 and served for 2 years in the Corps of Engineers US Army. He often spoke of his time of service and how it shaped his life after his return home in 1953. Oscar was a proud Veteran and was usually seen sporting his Korean War Veteran hat everywhere he went. He taught his great-grandsons to stand at attention and sound o when he called “Auctune (attention)!” Oscar married Mazell Kramer in 1956. In 1961 they moved the operation one mile east over Pitman Hill. Mazell’s family originally pioneered and settled in the Brighton area in 1859 and she was raised on a farm along the South Platte River on the old River Road. Together Oscar and Mazell brought into the world three children: Bradley Oscar in 1957, Mark Kramer in 1960, and Marla Ann in 1964. Dairy cows became the primary business over the next 20 years, and by 1980 300 Holsteins and Brown Swiss cows were being milked twice daily. By the late 1980s a beef cow-calf herd and small feedlot to nish out beef calves and dairy steers was added to the additional farm ground when the farm expanded. Oscar “retired” after Mazell was diagnosed with cancer. He viewed his primary occupation as caring for his wife for the last seven years of her life. ey pursued many treatments and traveled extensively in search of a cure. Mazell’s ght ended November 19th, 1994 after 38 years of marriage. On April 13th, 1996 Oscar married Ruth Wagner and moved to her farm near Wellington, Colorado. Ruth, who had also lost a spouse to cancer, was Oscar’s constant companion for the next 25 years. He described her as “feisty”, and together they traveled and enjoyed events of grandchildren and having great-grandchildren. For decades he was a regular and enjoyed morning co ee at the T-Bar in Wellington. In the fall of 2019 Oscar and Ruth relocated to Wray, Colorado to assisted living. Although Oscar never contracted COVID, the isolation that occurred as a result of the pandemic did take a toll on both him and Ruth. roughout his life Oscar enjoyed the fellowship of bible studies and theological discussions with anyone who was interested. His faith was always strong, and even in the last weeks of his life he would venture out to early morning bible studies with men of the Calvary Lutheran Church congregation. He touched the lives – often unknowingly – of many people with the strength of his faith and witness in his savior Jesus. One of Oscar’s passions was Allis-Chalmers and Moline tractors. He became a collector over the years, accumulating tractors he remembered farming with when he was a child and spent many hours and probably thousands of gallons of fuel hauling them across the country to tractor pulls – events his sons and grandsons often participated in with him. Oscar was always very active in his community, serving as President of the SW Adams Conservation District, Prime Rib Club, and Adams & Larimer County Farm Bureaus for decades. He served as an elder at Zion Lutheran Church in Brighton and was active in the Korean War Veterans Association the VFW and Adams County Historical Society. Oscar dearly loved his children, grandchildren and especially the blessings of great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his father and mother, sister Arleen, wife Mazell, nieces Denise and Andrea, stepdaughter Marie, and nephews Dennis and Eric. Oscar is survived by his wife Ruth, sister Darlene (Harley) Lee of Greeley, brother Ron (Margie) of Fort Lupton, children Bradley (Julie) Haake of Holyoke, Mark (Mildred) Haake of Wiggins, and Marla (Brad) Rock of Wray, Sandy (Bill) Wagner/Getz of Alamosa, and Rick (Sue) Wagner of Fort Collins, grandchildren Anita (Chas) Lengfelder, Barbara (Darren) Hinderer, Matt Haake, Jessilyn (Weston) Bugbee, Tessa Haake, Alex (Audrey) Rock, Amanda (Michael) Kerbs, Kate Wagner, Jayne (David) Wagner, and Maleesa (Brandon) Foreside, and 13 greatgrandchildren. Visitation was on Monday, February 14, 2022, 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. at Tabor Funeral Home, Brighton, CO. Funeral Service was Tuesday, February 15, 2022, at 11:00 a.m., at Zion Lutheran Church, Brighton, CO with Interment and Military Honors following at Elmwood Cemetery. Oscar’s Family would welcome memorials to the Lutheran Hour Ministries and Korean War Veterans Association. https://www.lhm.org/ give/forms/formgeneral. asp?id=1&cid=&campaign=22CMN20AA https://kwva.us/?page=mem_donate

CARDOSO June Eileen (Davis) Cardoso

June 12, 1933 - February 9, 2022 Known through most of her life as Eileen, June Cardoso passed away February 9th in Brighton, Colorado. A funeral mass for Eileen will be held at Saint Augustine Catholic Church in Brighton, Colorado on February 18th at 11:00 AM. She will be laid to rest later this year at Mount Zion Cemetery in Fairmont, West Virginia.

SHULL

Carol Shull

February 8, 1936 - January 23, 2022 Carol Jean (Opie) Shull, 85, of Ft. Lupton, Colorado, passed away January 23, 2022 at her home. She was born February 8, 1936 in Denver, Colorado to William and Esther (Tippett) Opie and grew up in Denver. Her father was born in Aspen and when she was young, her family would take annual camping trips to a mountain lake near Aspen. She loved those trips and often reminisced about them. She attended Colorado A&M (which later became Colorado State University) in Ft. Collins, Colorado, and was studying voice and piano performance, when she met George B. Shull. ey were married June 25, 1955, shortly after he graduated from Colorado A & M. ey honeymooned in a cabin in the Boulder Canyon, then packed up their belongings and continued their honeymoon as they traveled via the Black Hills, Lake Superior, Niagara Falls, and Montreal, Canada, before nally arriving in Connecticut, where George started his rst engineering job, at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company. Carol also got a job at Pratt & Whitney, in the o ce. ey soon became a family – their rst seven children were born in Connecticut. eir next child, Dana Lee, was born after they moved back to Denver; she died when she was only six months old. ey moved away from Colorado two more times, to Idaho (where Doug was born) and California, each time returning to Colorado for several years between George’s aerospace jobs in other locations, and they nally retired in Ft. Lupton. Carol loved being a mom. While in Connecticut, she helped with a Girl Scout troop and enjoyed going camping with the troop. Over the years she also was active in the churches she attended, frequently singing in the choir, playing piano and organ, and more recently, helping with a puppet ministry. She also taught Sunday School and served as the Sunday School superintendent at one of the churches. She had a heart for babies and young mothers and knit baby items for newborns and for caring pregnancy centers. She started the Open Arms Pregnancy Center which had two locations - in Brighton and Ft. Lupton - and she was the director for a number of years. Other interests involved sewing, reading and collecting things; she had collections of dolls, teddy bears, teapots, and crèches. Carol is survived by these children: George Daniel ( eresa) Shull, Deborah Ruth (Tom) Schesvold, Diane Carol (Rick) Perrin, Darrell William (Susan) Shull, Donna Lynn (David) Stall, Doreen Kay (Eric) Wiechert, daughterin-law Dionne Shull (wife of David Matthew Shull), Douglas James (Autumn) Shull; 16 Grandchildren: Trevor Shull, Joshua (Ezzy) Schesvold, Jennifer Schesvold, Matthew Schesvold, Abigail (Charles) Lutte, Joseph Perrin, Nathan Perrin, Jesse (Sadie) Shull, Jasper (Bill) Guildner, Andrew (Lea) Stall, Aaron Stall, Kate Stall, Nicholas Wiechert, Christopher Wiechert, Anthony (Kate) Albright, Santana Shull; and 6 greatgrandchildren: Imogen, Hannah, Evaline, Evelyn, Carolynn, Benjamin (and one more soon to arrive). She is preceded in death by her husband George Bolton Shull, her daughter Dana and her son David. A memorial service is planned for Saturday, March 12th at 10:30 am at Harvest Fellowship Church, 11401 E 160th Avenue, Brighton, CO 80602.

WEBB

Steven Lee Webb

June 22, 1947 - January 22, 2022 Steven Lee Webb passed into Eternal Life on January 22, 2022 at his home in Fort Lupton. He was 74 years old. Steve was born to Alvin and Audrey Webb on June 22, 1947. He loved being outdoors. He was passionate about hunting and shing. Steve was always a hard worker. He painted houses with speed and perfection. He also sold insurance. And he started a family business that is still going today. He leaves behind his wife of 24 years, Gayle, his children from his rst marriage, adwick Webb, Aaron Webb (Jacqueline), Kimberly King, and Sara Castle. Also, his sisters, Sandy (Chuck) Mercy and Linda Bragg, and his brothers, Mike Webb (Vanessa) and Andy Webb. He also leaves behind his step-children, Vanessa Rivas, Sean Ryley, Shay Ryley, Bryan Ryley (Teresa), and Danny Ryley (Alyssa) as well as ve grandchildren and twelve step-grandchildren, four great grandchildren and one step-great grandchild. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Pat Webb. Steve loved his family. He wanted them to have great memories. He provided many opportunities for them to make those memories. But most of all he loved Jesus. He was a Godly man. Going to church on Sunday morning was something he looked forward to all week. His words to people leaving the house, even at the end of his life here on earth, were, “Keep your eyes on Jesus!” A Celebration of life honoring Steven’s life will be held on Saturday, February 19th, 2022 at 11:00 AM at Crossroads Church (1115 1st Street, Fort Lupton, CO 80621). All are welcome to attend. Tabor Funeral Home, Brighton, CO is handling arrangements.

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Fort Lupton’s human resource director, Laura Howe, outlined some of the reasons why 72 employees left the city’s employ during a town hall meeting of Fort Lupton City Council on Feb. 8.

Of the 72 who are no longer on the payroll, seven were seasonal employees, seven left “involuntarily” and 58 left voluntarily for such things as better-paying jobs or retirement.

The city made exit interviews available to those workers. Fifteen completed the questionnaire, and those employees were able to offer several answers to each question.

Forty-seven percent left for new employment. Twenty-six percent went for a new job with more money, and 40 percent wanted jobs that were more in line with their experience. Other factors were spending more time with kids (6 percent) and commuting distance.

“Everyone was happy with their supervisor,” Howe told the council. “I’m pleased with that. No one said the workload was ‘too little,’ so we don’t have folks who are leaving because they are overworked.”

Two-thirds of those who participated said the city was a good place to work. The other third said it was a good place to work but had reservations.

The question of previously approved department incentives and their impact on morale came up during this discussion. Police chief John Fryar hasn’t seen any voluntary departures from the force since the council OK’d the incentive package late last year.

“We’ve had some departures involuntarily, such as people who didn’t complete the training process or who were dismissed for cause,” Fryar told councilors. “We have three (new offi cers) in training. We could have three more by the end of the month. Until they start, we won’t know if the incentives were a success.”

Public Works Director Roy Vestal said morale improved in his department.

“We have three positions open that we fi lled internally,” he told the council. “We did interviews with people on the outside. But we had some issues. Morale is defi nitely up. They can see more of a future within the organization.”

Council also wanted to explore the idea of spreading incentive packages across all departments in the city, not just a handful.

“When we are deciding on the changes you request, this helps us see what employees are thinking,” Mayor Zo Stieber said.

Howe plans to return to the Feb. 22 town hall with the results of an employee survey.

‘Contentious meetings’ draw attention of police

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Fort Lupton Police Chief John Fryar is sensing a problem, and he came to the Fort Lupton City Council’s town hall on Feb. 8 to outline his concern.

“We’ve been present during a number of events where fi ghts have broken out and where meetings have been contentious,” he told the council without elaborating. “We’ve had some issues, so we are working with the school district to see if our school resource offi cers can work at some of these events.”

He wants to amend a memorandum of understanding between the department and the Weld Re-8 School District “and still fall within our operational procedures at the same time.” Fryar said asking higher-paid offi cers to help may have an impact on the department’s budget “but offi cers making less money? We’re not going to go over budget.”

Fryar also said any change in the working arrangement between the district and the police department won’t result in extra budget issues.

“I don’t see why anyone would object to that,” Mayor Zo Stieber said. “What if no one takes it?”

“We’re going to avoid that,” Fryar joked. “We can’t guarantee the SROs (school resource offi cers) won’t take on these assignments. They know the kids best. But if they aren’t available, then we’ll offer it to offi cers

Fryar wasn’t as worried about day-long tournaments, such as the girls’ regional wrestling tournament that Fort Lupton High School hosted over the weekend.

Fort Lupton council wants to keep number of marijuana businesses at four

Local Focus. More News. ColoradoCommunityMedia.com

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Any desire to increase the number of allowed medical and retail marijuana businesses in Fort Lupton seems to be on its last legs.

During a Fort Lupton City Council town hall session on Feb. 9, the council seemed inclined to keep its cap of four such businesses in place. Council didn’t make a decision because of the format of the meeting.

Mayor Zo Stieber agreed with the city attorney’s argument to leave the rules as they are.

“Our attorney (Andy Ausmus) is against it because of the possibility of a suit by applicants who didn’t apply because they thought the cap was four,” she said. “We set it at four, and should stay at four.”

“I don’t know what the process was. But if we set it at four, we should stick with four,” said councilman Carlos Barron.

SEE MARIJUANA, P4

Vestal talks money with Fort Lupton City Council

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

When Fort Lupton Public Works Director Roy Vestal takes the microphone before the council, it’s usually a prelude to a discussion about money.

Such was the case on Feb. 8 during a Fort Lupton City Council town hall.

His fi rst topic was a $2 million change in a special improvement assessment for the Murata Farms Development in the 14000 block of state Highway 52. The improvements to such things as water systems,

SEE VESTAL, P4