Loretta Lou Abbott

Loretta (Sloan) Abbott passed away February 11, 2023, at home in Littleton, Colorado. She died at 81 years old after struggling for several years with primary progressive aphasia.

Loretta was born November 16, 1941, in Denver. Not long after she was born, Loretta's parents, Edgar and Helen (Amen) Sloan, decided to return to the Johnstown, Colorado, area, where they had grown up, fallen in love as high school sweethearts, graduated together in the class of 1936, and gotten married the next year. After living on farms near Johnstown, as well as homes in town, the family—by then including three other children—eventually moved into a modest new home just west of Letford Elementary School in 1959, the same year Loretta graduated from high school.

Ever since she was a young girl, Loretta expressed two desires for her life: to be a wife, and then a mother. She enjoyed "practicing" the role of mother by dressing up her younger brother, Alan, and their cousins as little girls and taking care of them.

Loretta loved the activities that were part of Americana in the 1950s. She especially enjoyed being a member of the Johnstown Phantoms pep club (girls only, as these days were long before high school girls' sports). She fondly recalled filling a school bus to travel to away games, demonstrating school spirit as they cheered, sang, and chanted all the way to the opponents' high school. Loretta also loved to go to school dances and to hang out with friends at Johnson's Corner, where she also worked at times as a waitress. Her senior year, Loretta was chosen by her schoolmates to be homecoming queen.

During Loretta's junior year, the school counselor gave her an aptitude assessment which indicated that she would be a good match for a school teacher. So following graduation from Johnstown High in 1959, since God had not yet provided a husband, she enrolled in Colorado State College (now UNC) in Greeley and majored in elementary education. In keeping with the times and her love for social engagement, Loretta joined Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority. She felt blessed to get to student teach in Mrs. Zeiler's second grade classroom at Letford. Ironically, her little brother Andy was a student in that class!

After graduating from CSC in 1963, Loretta moved to Lakewood because she was hired to teach at Green Mountain Elementary School. During her first year of teaching she met a handsome Air Force airman first class from Texas who was stationed at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver. July 11, 1965, Loretta and Truman C. Abbott were married at the First United Methodist Church in Fort Collins.

As she grew up, Loretta and her family were active members of the Johnstown Evangelical United Brethren Church, which later merged with the Methodist Church. At a young age, she responded to an invitation at a revival service to accept Jesus. Yet both Loretta and Truman yearned for something more in their spiritual lives. They soon discovered the answer to their search through the Jesus Movement and charismatic renewal. During this time they were also blessed with the birth of their daughter Jenny in 1968 and their son Jon in 1971.

Loretta's teaching career spanned from 1963 to 2016. She taught Sunday school and every grade from preschool through college and many different subjects. When Jenny and Jon were young, Loretta took them wherever she went. The schools included Colorado Christian School, Christian Fellowship School, and Colorado Christian University. She earned a master's degree in education from Oral Roberts University in 1995. Her final teaching assignment was supervising student teachers for CCU.

Loretta was active in churches and Bible studies throughout her years. Her faith and her family were clearly the most cherished aspects of her life. Loretta more than succeeded in her quest to be a faithful wife and mother and to live a life pleasing to God.

Loretta was preceded in death by her parents; her sister Nelda (Tittle); Nelda's husband, Don Tittle; and her brother Alan's wife, Bobbi. Loretta leaves behind a legacy through the lives of her husband, Truman, from Littleton; her brother Alan, from Greeley; her brother and sister-in-law, Andy and Ardith Sloan, from Longmont; her daughter and son-in-law, Jenny and Kenn Schneider, from Littleton; her son and daughter-in-law, Jon and Michelle Abbott, from Arvada; adopted son, Paul Abbott, from Littleton; granddaughters Abi (Spencer Brown), from Austin, Texas, and Taynin (Sean Rangus), from Bailey; grandsons Daniel and Sam Smith, from Littleton, and Jordan Abbott (Ryanne), from Brighton; and great-granddaughter, Addy (Rangus), from Bailey.


A celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, February 18 at 2 p.m. at Red Rocks Fellowship, 11195 W Belleview Ave, Littleton, CO 80127.
A private interment will be scheduled at Fort Logan National Cemetery in the coming days.