Obituaries

on your 8th Anniversary in Heaven. April 28, 2015 In the light of the dawn, you are away and gone.

Thelma passed away on April 18,2023 peacefully in her home with her husband. She was 78 years old.

Richard M. Pachelli Sr. 4/26/31 - 7/3/20 Happy Birthday Husband, Father & Papa Today Is Your Birthday In Heaven Above Our Blessings We Send On The Wings Of A Dove Not Just For Today But Every Day Hereof We Think Of You Always With All Of Our Love Always Loved, Forever Missed Your Wife Connie, Sons, Daughters, Granddaughter

In Loving Memory of our Beloved Mom, Grandma and Aunt on your 2nd birthday in Heaven you would have been 100 years old. Birthday wishes, sent to Heaven from your family below We miss and love you dearly and we wanted you to know. Your birthday’s not forgotten and your memory lives on We celebrate the life you had even though you’ve gone. If we were given just one wish one that would come true We’d wish you back beside us to spend this day with you. We will always love and miss you and will often shed a tear Especially on your special day, year after year Happy Birthday! Love and miss you by all your family

Tony Espinoza, born December 5, 1919, passed away peacefully at 103 years old in his home surrounded by his family on April 13, 2023. Per his request, a private funeral service was held April 19, 2023 at Comi Funeral Chapel. He was laid to rest in the Trinidad Catholic Cemetery with a Military Honor Guard and Father Sebastian presiding over the the mass and graveside services. Tony was proceeded in death by his loving wife, Miquela (Mickey) and son Daniel. Surviving are sons, Anthony and Dennis and daughter Victoria, numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, great great grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. The family would like to thank Mt. San Rafael Hospital staff, SCCOG caregivers, and Sangre de Cristo staff who all provided great care to our father and to Fishers Peak Soup Kitchen who provided a meal to the family after the Celebration of Life Services. Also, thanks to extended family members who provided support, meals and flowers during this time.

Thelma passed away on April 18,2023 peacefully in her home with her husband. She was 78 years old.

In loving memory of my dearest husband On his 82nd Birthday April 24, 2023 Happy birthday to my loved one in heaven. You may be gone, but your love, smile and memories will always live on inside my heart.

Author, John Sharpe, 78, a Colorado native whose family lineage included lawmen, ranchers, miners, and businessmen - with a couple of school teachers thrown in for balance - passed away on Feb. 28, 2023. From selling donkey rides and gold ore specimens on the summer streets of Cripple Creek, Colo. until he retired from commercial lending in 2007, John had been training to write fiction, whether he knew it or not. If it took a bushel full of experiences to write a novel, John had cultivated a small orchard. He’d been a teacher, a loan officer, a bartender, a fry cook, a real estate agent, an insurance salesman, a freelance writer, a photographer, and a magazine editor. He’d bucked bales, poured concrete, built fences, and pumped gas. He’d been bucked off donkeys, horses, steers, bulls, and one insulted sow. John would be the first to tell you that he wasn’t a cowboy. Even the sow agreed. John will be missed by a variety of friends from his many adventures. Preceded in death by his beloved wife, Cyrenne “Cy” Phinney-Sharpe; parents, Richard and Pauline (McMillan) Sharpe; and sister, Barbara Dorsey. Celebration of Life will be held 10 a.m. Saturday, May 6, 2023, at the Elks Lodge, 375 East Bennett Ave., Cripple Creek, CO 80813. Online condolences at www.MontgomerySteward.com

Mary Ellen Murphy, 95, died April 4, 2023. She was born Jan. 5, 1928, in Madison, S.D., to Edward and Emma (Minnaert) Richter. She graduated from St. Thomas High School in Madison, S.D., and St. Joseph School of Nursing in Mitchell, S.D. She was married to John Murphy Sept. 12, 1949. Together they owned and operated funeral homes in Yankton, S.D., Mitchell, S.D. and Trinidad, Colo. In addition to raising seven children she worked as a registered nurse in San Francisco, Calif., while John attended mortuary college, Yankton, Mitchell and briefly in Trinidad. She and John moved to Trinidad in November of 1981 and purchased the Mullare Funeral Home. She and John fell in love with the community and immediately after the purchase began remodeling and investing in the historic and iconic landmark now known as the Chappell House (aka Mullare-Murphy Funeral Home). The Chappell House was built in 1886 by Delos A. Chappell and has seen a complete transformation since the family purchased it in 1981. The building was converted from a doctor’s office and residence in 1934 to a funeral home/residence and had remained unchanged from 1934 to 1981. An interesting bit of history is that Georege Mullare, who converted the building to a funeral home, died in his sleep before the open house and was the first funeral. She assisted her husband with the funeral business and helped oversee the remodeling from 1981 until his passing in 1993. After her son Tom took over the business, she helped oversee the transformation of the unused Carriage House 1993/1994 from storage facility/horse barn to a modern day living quarters that she enjoyed living in independently for over 10 years. In 1996, the current 1600 sq ft John Murphy Memorial Chapel and 1400 sq ft garage below the chapel was added to the complex. She was semi-retired and living in the Carriage House in 2002 when Tom and Paula married and moved into the upstairs residence and completely remodeled and added on to it in 2002 and 2003.