Connie Ogden Howell

CONNIE OGDEN HOWELL Memorial services for longtime Cortez resident Connie Ogden Howell will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, December 7 at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church. A reception will follow the memorial service in Mary Blake Hall located at the church. Connie Ogden Howell, age 84, died on Thursday, December 3, 2009, at Southwest Memorial Hospital after a brief illness. Connie was born on June 6, 1925, on the Ogden family farm near Anamosa, Iowa, the daughter of A. Parke Ogden and Pearl Lucile (Umbenhauer) Ogden. She graduated from Anamosa High School in 1942 and Coe College in 1947 with a degree in geology. She then attended graduate school at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, working toward a degree in palynology. Connie worked for a number of years in Caracas, Venezuela, where she was regarded as one of the top palynologists in that field. After returning from Venezuela, she became a partner in a palynological research lab in Boulder, Colo. There she married Ralph Howell on October 31, 1952, in Denver, Colo. They returned to Venezuela where they continued to live and work for a number of years. In 1960, they relocated to Grants, N.M., where they both worked in the uranium industry. In 1985 they moved to Mancos, Colo., where Connie worked at Nielson's Inc., until her retirement in 1991. One of Connie's passions was volunteering at the BLM Anasazi Heritage Center Library, Dolores, Colo., from 1992 through 2002, and returning again in 2009. She cumulatively contributed over 1300 hours and helped hundreds of library patrons, researchers, students and teachers. She will always be part of the Heritage Center's heart. Connie's survivors include her husband, Ralph; her two children, Debi Cox and husband Kyle of Fort Collins/Durango, Colo., and Ralph Howell III of Mancos, Colo.; her granddaughter, Keelin Cox of Fort Collins, Colo., her sister, Bettie Miller of Anamosa, Iowa; her sister-in-law, Mary Bliss and husband, Robert of Lompoc, Calif.; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents. Connie will be remembered with a smile on her face, a sparkle in her eye, and a kind word for everyone. She will be dearly missed by her loving family and many friends. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Connie's name to Habitat for Humanity International, 121 Habitat Street, Americus, Georgia 31709-3498.l