Veda N. Steadman, 97, of Fort Collins, Colo., passed away January 19, 2012 while in the company of family members at her residence.
She was born September 4, 1914 in a sod house north of Kit Carson, Colo., and 27 miles by horseback from the nearest doctor to Harriet (Barber) and Harley H. Ashbaugh.
Enrolled on partial scholarships at Grinnell College during 1931 and 1933, Veda and her sister Vera, who were Sac City, Iowa farm girls, struggled nightly to make ends meet. When President Roosevelt closed the banks in March of 1933, they had 11 cents between them.
Determined to help her six younger siblings get college educations, Veda left Grinnell and taught country school. Relocating in 1937, she completed her B.A. in music at what is now the University of Northern Colorado by interspersing summer school with stints teaching in some of Colorado's most remote locales.
She taught in Alma, Colo., in the late 1930s. It was an isolated mining camp. Veda's mother wept bitterly when she first visited Alma, Colo. All that changed when Veda married a fellow teacher and soon-to-be Air Force officer, Vern V. Steadman on August 18, 1940 at her parents' farm.
With Vern stationed in 1946 to bombed out Munich, Germany, Veda, undaunted, set out to join him. Taking their two preschoolers, Vivian and James in tow, she undertook a perilous winter crossing of the storm-tossed North Atlantic on a troop carrier transport. Upon reaching Germany, she found communications there in such disarray that contacting Vern in Munich, prior to their arrival by train was impossible.
Returning from Europe, the family soon included daughter Linda. The next 14 years found them moving from post to post until Vern retired in 1962.
After being critically injured in an automobile accident in 1965 and then widowed within months, Veda enrolled at CSU, where she earned her Masters in English at age 54. Her degree propelled her later in life into a long-running career as a popular contributor to the Fence Post.
Four generations of her family have now ranched near Stove Prairie. At times, running the ranch nearly over-whelmed her, but she found satisfaction as her family gained "the discipline we had to learn and our children and our grandchildren absorbed from the hazards of ranching in a sometimes harsh, drought-plagued area …"
Veda is remembered as one who stayed positive and followed her dreams through times of great hardship.
She is survived by her daughters, Vivian and Linda Steadman; daughter-in-law Penelope; son-in-law Lee Wayman; and her grandchildren, Tristram Steadman Post, Karin Bridget, Christopher, Michael and Brook Steadman; nine great-grandchildren.
Her son James, a USAF F-4 pilot, was declared MIA in Laos in 1971.
Memorial services were held February 3, 2012 at First Presbyterian Church in Fort Collins, Colo.
A private family scattering of cremains will take place at a later date.
She was born September 4, 1914 in a sod house north of Kit Carson, Colo., and 27 miles by horseback from the nearest doctor to Harriet (Barber) and Harley H. Ashbaugh.
Enrolled on partial scholarships at Grinnell College during 1931 and 1933, Veda and her sister Vera, who were Sac City, Iowa farm girls, struggled nightly to make ends meet. When President Roosevelt closed the banks in March of 1933, they had 11 cents between them.
Determined to help her six younger siblings get college educations, Veda left Grinnell and taught country school. Relocating in 1937, she completed her B.A. in music at what is now the University of Northern Colorado by interspersing summer school with stints teaching in some of Colorado's most remote locales.
She taught in Alma, Colo., in the late 1930s. It was an isolated mining camp. Veda's mother wept bitterly when she first visited Alma, Colo. All that changed when Veda married a fellow teacher and soon-to-be Air Force officer, Vern V. Steadman on August 18, 1940 at her parents' farm.
With Vern stationed in 1946 to bombed out Munich, Germany, Veda, undaunted, set out to join him. Taking their two preschoolers, Vivian and James in tow, she undertook a perilous winter crossing of the storm-tossed North Atlantic on a troop carrier transport. Upon reaching Germany, she found communications there in such disarray that contacting Vern in Munich, prior to their arrival by train was impossible.
Returning from Europe, the family soon included daughter Linda. The next 14 years found them moving from post to post until Vern retired in 1962.
After being critically injured in an automobile accident in 1965 and then widowed within months, Veda enrolled at CSU, where she earned her Masters in English at age 54. Her degree propelled her later in life into a long-running career as a popular contributor to the Fence Post.
Four generations of her family have now ranched near Stove Prairie. At times, running the ranch nearly over-whelmed her, but she found satisfaction as her family gained "the discipline we had to learn and our children and our grandchildren absorbed from the hazards of ranching in a sometimes harsh, drought-plagued area …"
Veda is remembered as one who stayed positive and followed her dreams through times of great hardship.
She is survived by her daughters, Vivian and Linda Steadman; daughter-in-law Penelope; son-in-law Lee Wayman; and her grandchildren, Tristram Steadman Post, Karin Bridget, Christopher, Michael and Brook Steadman; nine great-grandchildren.
Her son James, a USAF F-4 pilot, was declared MIA in Laos in 1971.
Memorial services were held February 3, 2012 at First Presbyterian Church in Fort Collins, Colo.
A private family scattering of cremains will take place at a later date.
Veda N. Steadman, 97, of Fort Collins, Colo., passed away January 19, 2012 while in the company of family members at her residence.
She was born September 4, 1914 in a sod house north of Kit Carson, Colo., and 27 miles by horseback from the nearest doctor to Harriet (Barber) and Harley H. Ashbaugh.
Enrolled on partial scholarships at Grinnell College during 1931 and 1933, Veda and her sister Vera, who were Sac City, Iowa farm girls, struggled nightly to make ends meet. When President Roosevelt closed the banks in March of 1933, they had 11 cents between them.
Determined to help her six younger siblings get college educations, Veda left Grinnell and taught country school. Relocating in 1937, she completed her B.A. in music at what is now the University of Northern Colorado by interspersing summer school with stints teaching in some of Colorado's most remote locales.
She taught in Alma, Colo., in the late 1930s. It was an isolated mining camp. Veda's mother wept bitterly when she first visited Alma, Colo. All that changed when Veda married a fellow teacher and soon-to-be Air Force officer, Vern V. Steadman on August 18, 1940 at her parents' farm.
With Vern stationed in 1946 to bombed out Munich, Germany, Veda, undaunted, set out to join him. Taking their two preschoolers, Vivian and James in tow, she undertook a perilous winter crossing of the storm-tossed North Atlantic on a troop carrier transport. Upon reaching Germany, she found communications there in such disarray that contacting Vern in Munich, prior to their arrival by train was impossible.
Returning from Europe, the family soon included daughter Linda. The next 14 years found them moving from post to post until Vern retired in 1962.
After being critically injured in an automobile accident in 1965 and then widowed within months, Veda enrolled at CSU, where she earned her Masters in English at age 54. Her degree propelled her later in life into a long-running career as a popular contributor to the Fence Post.
Four generations of her family have now ranched near Stove Prairie. At times, running the ranch nearly over-whelmed her, but she found satisfaction as her family gained "the discipline we had to learn and our children and our grandchildren absorbed from the hazards of ranching in a sometimes harsh, drought-plagued area …"
Veda is remembered as one who stayed positive and followed her dreams through times of great hardship.
She is survived by her daughters, Vivian and Linda Steadman; daughter-in-law Penelope; son-in-law Lee Wayman; and her grandchildren, Tristram Steadman Post, Karin Bridget, Christopher, Michael and Brook Steadman; nine great-grandchildren.
Her son James, a USAF F-4 pilot, was declared MIA in Laos in 1971.
Memorial services were held February 3, 2012 at First Presbyterian Church in Fort Collins, Colo.
A private family scattering of cremains will take place at a later date.
She was born September 4, 1914 in a sod house north of Kit Carson, Colo., and 27 miles by horseback from the nearest doctor to Harriet (Barber) and Harley H. Ashbaugh.
Enrolled on partial scholarships at Grinnell College during 1931 and 1933, Veda and her sister Vera, who were Sac City, Iowa farm girls, struggled nightly to make ends meet. When President Roosevelt closed the banks in March of 1933, they had 11 cents between them.
Determined to help her six younger siblings get college educations, Veda left Grinnell and taught country school. Relocating in 1937, she completed her B.A. in music at what is now the University of Northern Colorado by interspersing summer school with stints teaching in some of Colorado's most remote locales.
She taught in Alma, Colo., in the late 1930s. It was an isolated mining camp. Veda's mother wept bitterly when she first visited Alma, Colo. All that changed when Veda married a fellow teacher and soon-to-be Air Force officer, Vern V. Steadman on August 18, 1940 at her parents' farm.
With Vern stationed in 1946 to bombed out Munich, Germany, Veda, undaunted, set out to join him. Taking their two preschoolers, Vivian and James in tow, she undertook a perilous winter crossing of the storm-tossed North Atlantic on a troop carrier transport. Upon reaching Germany, she found communications there in such disarray that contacting Vern in Munich, prior to their arrival by train was impossible.
Returning from Europe, the family soon included daughter Linda. The next 14 years found them moving from post to post until Vern retired in 1962.
After being critically injured in an automobile accident in 1965 and then widowed within months, Veda enrolled at CSU, where she earned her Masters in English at age 54. Her degree propelled her later in life into a long-running career as a popular contributor to the Fence Post.
Four generations of her family have now ranched near Stove Prairie. At times, running the ranch nearly over-whelmed her, but she found satisfaction as her family gained "the discipline we had to learn and our children and our grandchildren absorbed from the hazards of ranching in a sometimes harsh, drought-plagued area …"
Veda is remembered as one who stayed positive and followed her dreams through times of great hardship.
She is survived by her daughters, Vivian and Linda Steadman; daughter-in-law Penelope; son-in-law Lee Wayman; and her grandchildren, Tristram Steadman Post, Karin Bridget, Christopher, Michael and Brook Steadman; nine great-grandchildren.
Her son James, a USAF F-4 pilot, was declared MIA in Laos in 1971.
Memorial services were held February 3, 2012 at First Presbyterian Church in Fort Collins, Colo.
A private family scattering of cremains will take place at a later date.
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