MARTHA MINAHAN

February 16, 1954 – July 5, 2008

-by Claudia Johnston

After many years of volksmarching with her sister-in-law, Terry Sullivan, at conventions and in Texas, and managing to stay under the radar volksmarching here in Colorado, Martha Minahan was found! Actually, it was when Susan Paprocki and I were fund raising for the AVON 3 Day Walk for Cancer in 2001 when Martha found us.  This was three days of walking 20 miles a day. What better way to train for a 60 mile walk than to do two volksmarches a day?  So for months we trained together and Martha became more involved in the volksmarching community.  Enough so that she, Sue Poe and I became the “Trailmeister Trio” for the

Rocky Mountain Wanderers.  Several years later Martha was elected to President of the Rocky Mountain Wanderers and served the club for four years in that capacity.

Martha first encountered cancer in 1994, again in 1998 and last fall was diagnosed once again.  She endured 12 chemo treatments this time and appeared to be doing just great.  Unfortunately cancer is a tricky little devil and kept itself hidden just waiting for the last chemo treatment to wear off.  It attacked with a vengeance and we lost her in a very short two weeks. We’ve all lost a great friend and volksmarching has lost a great mentor.

Martha’s services will be held at 9 AM, July 14 at Crown Hill Mortuary.  A reception will follow at Green Mountain United Methodist Church.  Her husband, Dan, feels there will be many flowers and requests that in lieu of flowers contributions be made to one of two charities. The first, very near and dear to Martha’s heart, is the “Bucerias Christmas Charity”. They provide Christmas to the underprivileged children of Bucerias, Mexico, just outside Puerto Vallarta. Her good friends, James and Jenny Nelson introduced us to this charity. This is not a “recognized charity so your donation will not be tax deductible. If you would like to donate please send an e-mail to James Nelson at jubilado@shaw.ca.  He will respond with information on how and where to send the donation, direct you to a website or provide information on how to make donations.  The other charity is The American Cancer Society. There is a donation form, with the mailing address and a place to designate your gift for Martha, at this link: http://www.mdanderson.org/pdf/donation_form.pdf  or The American Cancer Society has a form for on-line memorial gifts (by credit card) at this link: https://www.cancer.org/docroot/DON/DON_1_Donate_Online_Now_Auto_Custom.asp?don_promo=WebMem.