Thelma Irene Wood

Thelma passed away on March 11, in Arvada, Colorado, at the age of 101 Thelma was born on November 13, 1923, in Douglas, Converse County, Wyoming, to Orville A. Miler and Minnie A. Miler. She had three older sisters [Effie, Alva, and Opal] and has a younger brother, Orville.

They moved to a farm in Adams County, Colorado, in 1930. She attended Westlake School in Broomfield and graduated from Louisville High School, both in Adams County. Thelma married Russell Lee Wood on April 29, 1942, in Broomfield. Because they were both considered very young and it was a wartime wedding, many thought it would not last. They were married for 77 years, until Russell passed in January 2020. 

Thelma was an inspector for the Remington Arms Plant in Lakewood, Colorado when they were married. The plant was running seven days a week, and everyone was on rotating shifts, so everyone got one 36 hour break every 7 weeks. They had 36 hours for the wedding, from the time they left work. had the wedding ceremony, went on a honeymoon in the mountains to the west of Denver where they got snowed in, and returned to work. They made it with an hour to spare.

After the war, Thelma became a telephone operator for AT&T in rural Adams County, Colorado, until they went 'Direct Dial' and no longer needed telephone operators.

They moved to North Denver in 1948, and later moved to Heather Gardens, in Arapahoe county, where they lived until Russell passed.

Thelma returned to school after their two boys, Randall and Russell, graduated from school. She attended Emily Griffin Opportunity School to become a nurse. She worked for Denver General Hospital.

Thelma was artistic and loved pottery and specialized in creating carved porcelain vases. She was a member of the Colorado Potters Guild. Her work is in many private collections She loved to travel. They travelled annually, either on cruises or to see America. She would bring some of her completed carved porcelain pieces with her to sell along the way on her road trips. Her favorite trip was to Vermont to see the maple syrup cooking.

Thelma is survived by two sons: Randall Wood, and Russell Wood; 3 grandchildren: Christopher Wood, Randall Wood, Stephanie Ciotola; and 2 great grandchildren: Angelina and Anthony Ciotola.