Aleta Shields Klahre

1942 - 2021

Aleta Shields Klahre obituary, 1942-2021, Durango, CO

BORN

1942

DIED

2021

Aleta Klahre Obituary

Graveside services will be held for Aleta Klahre on April 10, 2021, 2 p.m., at the Florida Cemetery; a memorial will also be held, April 17, 2 p.m., at the Florida Grange Hall.

Aleta is survived by her son Mark Klahre and daughter Tracie Kee, and also 4 grandsons, Benjamin Kee, Samuel Kee, Joseph Kee, and Jared Kee. She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Marie Shields, and her former husband, Roland Klahre.

Aleta Marie Shields Klahre was born October 24, 1942, in Burlingame, CA, to Charles Shields and wife Marie Pedwell Shields; she was an only child. Marie was the youngest family member of Edward and Martha Crawley Pedwell, an old farm family on the Florida Mesa.

On March 29, 2021, in the early morning, Aleta lived her last hours. Her son Mark found her and got help for her, getting the ambulance. CPR was tried, without response.

Charles Shields was an engineer in the Navy Reserve, in Burlingame, CA. In 1945, when Aleta was 3 years old, her father was called to active duty and was transferred to Charlotte, SC. He later worked on the beginnings of Space Exploration. The family remained there until Aleta had finished her Elementary education. Charles was reassigned to Denver for several years, where Aleta attended junior high, then to Seattle, WA. Aleta graduated high school there and enrolled in junior college and studied Archeology.

When Charles retired from the Navy, the family moved back to the Florida Mesa and took over the farm that was homesteaded by Aleta's grandparents in 1897. Aleta met a young German immigrant, Roland Klahre, and they married in 1969 in the Methodist Church in Durango. They lived in a mobile home on the farm for a time, eventually moving to the house when Aleta became pregnant. She was challenged most of her life with health issues because her heart had formed twisted 90 degrees in her chest, causing her weakness and sometimes pain.

Aleta and Roland had two children: Mark in 1970 and Tracie in 1971. The marriage later dissolved, when the children were small. Aleta lived with her parents, never remarrying.

Because Edward Pedwell was a founding member of the Florida Grange, Marie Shields had joined and encouraged Aleta to join also. She remained a member the rest of her life.

Aleta had a small business that concerned chickens, making a small income from selling eggs, and sometimes selling young chickens or hens. She was still utilizing the chicken house that her grandfather built in the late 1800's.

Aleta tried diligently to be a good mother and good grandmother. The boys helped with the chickens when Aleta had health issues. She would try very hard to work her way back from accidental falls or illnesses, so she could get back to caring for her chickens.

Aleta will be missed by those who understood how she cared about Family and Friends in her lifetime.

Published by The Durango Herald on Apr. 5, 2021.
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Memorial Events
for Aleta Klahre

Apr

10

Graveside service

2:00 p.m.

Florida Cemetery

CO

Apr

17

Memorial service

2:00 p.m.

Florida Grange Hall

CO

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