Ada Romans

ADA ROMANS Graveside services for longtime Cortez resident Ada Romans will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, June 30 at the Cortez Cemetery. Ada Josephine Walker was born in Hoehne, (near Trinidad) Colo. on March 23, 1919 to Charley and Ida Mills Walker, the youngest of five children. She passed away in Lakewood, Colo. on June 23, 2008. Ada's middle name was after her grandmother, Josephine Mills. Her dad was a share cropper and they lived very modestly by the standards of those times. Her mother raised turkeys which helped pay for their school clothes. Ada started to school in Hoehne when she was five years old. Later, they moved to Riverside, Calif. but longed for the country life. When she was about seven, they came back to Colorado and her dad bought a section of land at Seven Lake, about half way between La Junta and Trinidad. Ada went to a one room school and her teacher Miss Guterriez lived with the Walkers. After she did her chores she would study in order to take tests in Trinidad to progress to the next grade. She went to high school by bus to Thatcher. She was determined to graduate from high school by the age of 12. During her Junior and Senior year the dust bowl came and there went the cattle and the farm. Ada had to quit school and moved with her parents. Later she got a job for $3.50 per week with room and board. For a little girl striving to complete high school by the time she was 12, it was very hard to give up that dream. However, she definitely believed that you should never stop learning. Later in her life she took extension classes from Western State College at the high school in Cortez and in 1976 and 1977 she took night courses at the San Juan County Votec in real estate sales, tax factors and real estate law. Even at the age of 80 she was taking a course to become a paralegal. She was a great seamstress and was a licensed milliner. She was very proud of the hats that she made. One of her favorite hobbies was painting with oil. She especially liked to paint landscapes. She married Joe Frazier March 6, 1939 and to this union their daughter, Caroline was born. During WWII, they lived in Needles, Calif. At that time she worked as a waitress and was trained to be a train engineer in case of an emergency. Her sister, Fessie was also trained as a fireman for the railroad. About 1945, they returned to Colorado and owned a restaurant in La Junta. In 1949, Joe and Ada were divorced and she married Emzy Clay Romans Jr. on Feb. 10, 1949. About a year later, they bought Hendrick Plumbing & Heating in Cortez and changed the name to Cortez Plumbing and Heating. Clay told her that he would make the money and she was to invest it. This they did by purchasing rental property for years in the Cortez area. Ada loved Cortez and told about the good friends and neighbors she had and how she loved them all. About 1985, they bought a second home in Riviera, Ariz. Until then, they didn't have time for fun or dates but she said that the home in Riviera "renewed our life." Ada received a 50 year pin from the Rosicrucian Order in 1987. Their teachings were a blessing to her during the sad times. Ada was preceded in death by her parents; her two sisters, Fessie Geist and Oma Goffa; her two brothers, Delbert and Leo Walker; and her husband, Emzy Clay Romans Jr. died in 2003. She is survived by her daughter, Caroline Thomas and her husband, Tom. She is also survived by her granddaughter, Tara Johnson and her four children, Kameron, Kyle, Tristan and Jessie. She also leaves a grandson Lance Thomas. She is also survived by several nieces and nephews. Each member of her family meant a great deal to her and she loved them dearly. She was always so proud of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. For her daughter she was always her "cheerleader" telling her she could accomplish anything she set her mind to do. Ada definitely practiced this all her life and believed strongly in the idea of that you should never stop learning and that if you worked hard enough you can accomplish anything.