Obituaries

Avelino Gutierrez-Tellechea

Avelino Gutierrez-Tellechea, 84, of Rock Springs, passed away on Thursday, June 21, 2007, at the Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County following a long battle with cancer.

He was born on July 8, 1922, in San Sebastian, Spain the son of Francisca Gutierrez-Tellechea and Maximo Tellechea.

Avelino was 17 when he participated in and was wounded in the Spanish Civil War. As Europe flared into war, Avelino fought with various resistance units against the Axis troops across Europe until the end of World War II, when he came to work for Senor Carricabula on his ranch in Idaho. Three years later he moved to Rock Springs to work in the coal mines, starting as a laborer and finishing as a Joy Continuous Miner Operator.

He married Kathleen Boner on Oct. 2, 1947, and she preceded him in death on Oct. 8, 1980. He helped raise her two children and four grandchildren.

In 1955, Avelino initiated a second business, moving houses, which he continued for 33 years.

Survivors include his companion Maria Alvarez; her daughter Christina; her son Moses of Rock Springs; one sister Nela Gutierrez and one brother Demetrio Gutierrez-Tellechea, both of San Sebastian, Spain; one grandson Richard Coleman of Casper; Jeri Lynn Coleman and Donna Coleman of Montana, and Cindy Coleman of New York.

He was preceded in death by his parents, wife and stepdaughter and her husband, Betty Honea and Ed Honea.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 27, 2007, at the Saints Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church, 633 Bridger Ave., Rock Springs. Interment was in the Rock Springs Municipal Cemetery. A Parish Rosary was recited at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 26, 2007, at the Vase Funeral Chapel, 154 Elk St., Rock Springs.

Loren Homer Denney

Loren Homer Denney, 88, was born to Clarence Homer Denney and Carrie Mae McPeak Oct. 20, 1918, in Litchfield, Ill. They lived on a small farm in the surrounding area. When times got tough for his father to make a living for the family, they moved into town. Loren talked about hitchhiking out to his uncle’s farm and helping him do his work. He liked the outdoor life better than the town area. He talked about driving a large farm truck into Chicago for his uncle without a driver’s license. It’s hard to imagine driving in there with one.

Loren owned and operated a barbershop in Raymond, Ill., from 1940 to 1943. His father wanted him to be a barber. His sister Aileen introduced him to Margaret Evelyn Cooper. They were later married June 23, 1940. Shortly later at the age of 22 he was drafted into the U.S. Navy where he served from 1943 to 1945 aboard a destroyer escort and later an APD in the South Pacific. He talked of some of the typhoons his ship went into and what that was like. He held many ratings and went to different radar schools, including New York, N.Y.; Virginia Beach, Va.; San Francisco, Calif.; and Boston, Mass.

Peggy (his wife was called) would travel to all the bases and was a beautician while she waited for him to come back for leave when out on the ships. When he was being discharged his commander asked him what he was going to do when he got out and asked him if he had heard of the GI Bill that helped troops go to college. He looked into it and attended and graduated from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 1948 with majors in physics and mathematics and also did graduate work at the University of Nebraska. He earned a master of science degree at the University of Wyoming in 1964 with majors in physics and chemistry.

He taught physics for 12 years at the University of Nebraska School of Agriculture in Curtis, Neb. Then he moved to Rock River where he taught math and science for four years followed by four years as superintendent of schools. He then moved over to Morton and taught at the Wind River schools for two years as superintendent, where they were consolidating the three schools together. He said no matter what he did he was always two-thirds wrong, according to what area he was talking to. He moved to Pinedale in 1970 where he served as elementary school principal, high school principal, superintendent and transportation-energy conservation director. He retired from the school in 1983.

Loren enjoyed the great outdoors and liked to backpack and travel the mountain country around the area. He loved to fish any kind from lake, to stream, to ice fishing. He especially liked the Willow Lake area.

He liked to hunt big game. We often traveled over to Sundance to hunt the white tail deer and turkey at Thanksgiving time. He would take his little truck camper and camp out.

After retirement, Loren and Peggy would go to Yuma, Ariz., in the winter and explore the desert country. They also traveled all over the country just exploring what was out there, but he always came home to Pinedale.

Loren had been an active amateur radio operator since 1949 with an extra class license and was also a volunteer examiner for radio license applicants. He had been a member of the American Radio Relay League since 1949, a member of Sigma Pi Sigma – National Physics Honor Society since 1948, and was in Who’s Who in the West for several years.

He liked to play golf after Pinedale built a golf course. He said he got a lot of good exercise out hitting the balls. Someone gave him a roadrunner made out of golf clubs and balls. He loved it. It is on top of his television.

But the one hobby Loren liked best was talking all over the country on his radios. Darin lived next door to him, and his equipment was so good that when he talked, Darin could hear him through his telephone. You learned not to call at certain hours of the day.

He was a man of good cheer. He always had a smile on his face and never said anything bad about anybody. He loved for people to stop by and visit. He had friends from all over the country stopping by.

He is survived by a son Mike, one grandson Nathan, one sister Aileen Wilson of Morrisonville, Ill., and many nieces and cousins. He was preceded in death by his wife Peggy and one sister Lorene Hall of Parkhill, Mo.

Funeral services were held Saturday, June 23 at 2 p.m. at the Pinedale Cemetery. Perry Binning conducted the service and military funeral honors were conducted by the Pinedale V.F.W. Post 4801 and U.S. Naval Reserve.