Ora Lee arrived in Eads, Colorado on March 1st, 1923, the ninth of thirteen children born unto Jennie May and George Martin Crow. She worked at the Crows Stop & Shop Food Store during her childhood and graduated from Eads High School in 1941. On June 1st of that year, she married Vernal C. Patterson, of Chivington, Colorado and honeymooned in San Francisco, California. In 1943, with Vernal returning home from the Army, they moved to Denver, where they both found work at the Gates Rubber Company. While managing the Gates Cafeteria, she also attended night school at the Colorado School of Cosmetology. In 1945, she opened the Kut n Kurl, a business she operated for the next 25 + years. During this time, she and Vernal joined the International Graphoanalysis Society, studying handwriting analysis. They traveled to the annual conventions, usually in Chicago or Springfield, Illinois. It was a hobby theyd enjoyed for the next 40 years.


Ora Lees life revolved around her family. In 1958, she and Vernal adopted a daughter (Karla Jean) and then in 1962, a son (Troy Dean). To fulfill her obligations as a mother and a businesswoman, shed work while the kids were in school and then again after theyd gone to bed. Summers were spent traveling the country to visit relatives, usually camping along the way.


In 1976, she retired to become a fulltime Grandmother to Holly, Desiree and Amber, filling her days with joy. Her family continued to grow with the addition of two grandsons, Shane and Luke and now includes six great-grandchildren.


In 2002, she and Vernal returned to Eads, where they resided at the Weisbrod Memorial Nursing Home. Among family and friends again, she enjoyed the pleasures of small town life.


Shell be remembered for her sense of adventure, devotion to family and unconditional love.


Ora Lee Patterson died on December 13, 2008 at the Weisbrod Nursing Home in Eads. Funeral services were held on Friday, December 19, 2008 at the Eads United Methodist Church in Eads with Rev. Nancy Peacock officiating. Betty Crow and Charlotte Woelk provided the instrumental music, accompanying Sylvia Weeks and Mary Eikner. Serving as casketbearers were her family. Ora Lee is survived by her children Troy (Joann) Patterson and Karla (Ron) Nash, 5 grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren. She is also survived by her brothers George Crow and Richard Crow, her sister-in-law Lucille Crow and brother-in-law John Dixon. She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband Vernal Patterson, 3 sisters and 7 brothers. Final committal services were held at the Eads Cemetery. Friends and family can register online condolences and sign the guest book at www.brownfuneraldirectors.com. Visitation and funeral services were entrusted to the care of the Brown Funeral Home in Eads.