Memorials › Rose Loretta Stehno Dean Brinks

Rose Loretta Stehno Dean Brinks

23 Jan 1935 – 25 Aug 2025

Birth	23 Jan 1935
Death	25 Aug 2025
Cemetery	Grandview Cemetery Fort Collins , Larimer County , Colorado , USA
Added by	J. S. Gilbert on 26 Aug 2025
FaG	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/286496739

Bio

Rose Loretta Brinks, 90, was born January 23, 1935, youngest of 5 children, in a farm house near Stratton, Nebraska, to Frank Stehno and Mary (Sis) Stehno, and died August 25, 2025 from ovarian cancer. She attended the Stratton Public School for 12 years, graduating in 1952. She graduated from Creighton University in l956 and taught high school and junior high in Omaha, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, and also at Ottawa University in Kansas. She earned Masters Degrees in zoology (immunology) from the University of Kansas in l965 and in Public Health (radiation biology) from Colorado State University, in l969. She also attended Lamar State College of Technology in Beaumont, Texas; Arizona State University, and the University of Wyoming, often with various National Science Foundation scholarships. She was preceded in death by her parents, brothers Edmund and Raymond Stehno, sisters Regina Weskamp and Marie Stavas, nephew Frank Stehno, her first husband Alan Dean, who died in the family's small airplane in 1965, and second husband Dr. James S. Brinks (1934-2015), whom she married in 1969. Survivors include her seven children: Dr. Alan Dean (Kathleen) of Ft. Collins, Rex Dean of Los Angeles, Mary Dean of Fort Collins, Dr. Andrew Dean (Marta) of Laporte, Dr. Laura Pritchett of Bellvue, and twins John and Jim Brinks of LaPorte; 5 stepchildren: Denise Dean of Parks, AZ, Laurie Zurn (Frank) of Los Angeles, David Buckler of Fort Worth, Kevin Brinks (Kati) of Centennial, and Karen Wetzbarger of Severance; 14 grandchildren; 8 step-grandchildren; 1 great grandson, and 8 step-great-grandchildren. Rose was a life-long Catholic, it was the foundation of her life. She was a member of the Fort Collins Historical Society, the Pioneers, and the Westerners. She wrote a book about the Bingham Hill Cemetery on the family farm, and gave innumerable talks and tours through the cemetery to schoolchildren and other groups. In 1994 a reunion was held for the Indian/French Canadian descendants of the 160-acre farm's first owners Provost and Claymore. She was "adopted" by the Oglala tribe and given the name "Holy Winged Horse Woman." In the 1950s and 1960s, Rose loved to fly, accumulating some 500 hours in her Piper Cub and other small planes. She had "284 successful takeoffs, and 283 successful landings." Her late-life sadness was her husband's Alzheimers for 10 years during their 70s. She leaves behind 80 shoeboxes of photos and 80 years of diaries. The family would like to thank all the friends and neighbors who made her last years so active and memorable. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by close family friend Fr. Greg Ames on Thursday, August 28, starting at 10 AM, at St Josephs Church in Fort Collins, followed by interment at Grandview Cemetery.

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