Annie Mae Neely

Memorial services for Cortez resident Annie Mae Neely will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 5, 2019 at the Lewis Arriola Community Center. Pastor Neely Lewis will officiate.
Annie Mae was born November 28, 1919 in Cleburn, TX the daughter of William David and Annie Lola (Clark) Smart. She passed away on Sunday, March 31, 2019 at Vista Grande Inn at the age of 99.
Surviving Annie Mae are her children, Renay Neely (Nita) of Cortez, CO, Forrest Neely of Cortez, CO, Randy Dossey (Julie) of Durango, CO; nine grandchildren; 28 great grandchildren; and 51 great great grandchildren. Annie Mae was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Prentis Dee Neely; her siblings, Euleetus Smart, George Smart, A.D. Smart, Elbert Smart, Raymond Smart, and Gladys King; her daughter-in-law Mary Lou; two grandsons, Steven and Rick; a great grandson, Nick, and his wife Krystina; and a great great granddaughter, Charlot Gibson.

FROM THE PEN OF ANNIE MAE:
“I was born in Cleburn, Texas to William David and Annie Lola (Clark) Smart on November 28, 1919. We moved to West Texas to the little town of Bradshaw when I was four years old. I went to school in Bradshaw, Guion and Ovalo. My brothers were Euleetus, George, A.D. Elbert and Raymond. Sister Gladys.
We moved to Cahone in August, 1933. Married Pop March 3, 1936. He already owned 80 acres over on the Dolores river rim. That fall we bought an adjoining 80, cleared it with horses and grubben hoe and lived there in a three room log house until 1948. We moved to the big log house that uncle Cash Neely built. Renay and Forrest were born in 1937 and 1939. We got Lynn, Warren and Randy December 21, 1951 after their mother Given died. Oh, we worked in the mill at Uravan, CO in 1941 and 42. Our bean crop froze in 1940, so we had to work somewhere. Prent and Ralph farmed our ground those two summers. We farmed until August, 1972, sold the farm, Dee was so crippled with Rheumatoid arthritis, kept the house and five acres for another five years, then sold it, bought a motor home and enjoyed traveling until 1991, settled in Cortez. He died August 14, 1992. And you know the rest of the story.”