Wilma Dean (Kennedy) Graehling
Marriages
Robert Shorten
Glen “Gerry” Cameron - 2000
Alex Graehling - 2013
Burial Details
Obituaries
The Daily Sentinel page 3D - February 16, 2020
Born September 12, 1927,
to John and Dorothy Kennedy
in Hugo, OK, Wilma Dean
was their only child and the
apple of their eye. She was an
avid reader, self-taught cook,
seamstress, maker of quilts and
afghans, lover of plants, flowers,
gardening and canning the
produce. She made each of her grandchildren a quilt for their eighth
grade graduation and an afghan for high school graduation. She
remembered all family birthdays with a card and gift.
Wilma graduated from Butte High School in Butte, Montana,
and completed two years of a nursing program at Montana State
in Bozeman. She was introduced to Robert Shorten at a friend’s
wedding and six weeks later they were married. They both loved
country dances held in old school houses in Madison County. She
worked in the medical field throughout her life.
They had two daughters, Linda and Lonnie; seven grandchildren;
15 great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren.
She was a rancher’s wife until she and Bob moved to Colorado
in 1985 to be close to Linda’s family and enjoy the milder climate.
Arizona in the winter was a gift they both enjoyed. They remained
close to Lonnie’s Idaho family, but 500 miles apart meant more
phone calls than visits. Her mother and Uncle Brown joined them
in Grand Junction in 1988. Wilma and Bob attended sporting events
for Shawn, Kent and Tony, and were known as Grandma and Papa
by young and old alike.
Papa died of cancer in 1999. Wilma married Glen “Gerry”
Cameron in 2000 and became active in a Jeep club exploring the
Colorado and Utah back country. Gerry died in 2009 of cancer.
Wilma was active in Grey Gourmet, Crossroads United Methodist
Church and continued cheering on great-grandchildren at sporting
events. She married Alex Graehling in 2013. Wilma had been
blessed with good health until the last two years of her life. Her 90s
saw a decline in her activity. She and Alex enjoyed quiet times until
her death January 15, 2020.
She was preceded in death by parents, John and Dorothy
Kennedy; and husbands, Robert Shorten and Gerry Cameron. She
is survived by husband, Alex Graehling; his daughters, Reese and
Glynda and family; her daughters, Linda (Bill) Marsh and Lonnie
(John) Martinell, and grandchildren, Shawn (Jennifer), Kent
(Stacey), Tony (Carmen) Marsh, Stacy (Tim) Grant, Misty (Kris
Smith) Martinell, Erin (Nathan) Kennedy, Leslie Watson and their
families.
A Celebration of her life will be held at Callahan-Edfast Mortuary,
Grand Junction, CO on Saturday, February 29, 2020, at 10:00 a.m.
To those friends and loved ones who have passed on before her,
get your dancin’ shoes on because she is ready to dance!
The Daily Sentinel page 6C - January 19, 2020
Wilma Dean Kennedy Graehling, 92, of Grand Junction, died
Jan. 15, 2020, at St. Mary’s Hospital. Services 10 a.m., February 29,
at Callahan-Edfast Mortuary.
