Doris Achenbach

Doris Marie (Gard) Achenbach recently of Collbran, Colorado passed away at Grand Junction Hope West Hospice Center on July 12, 2019, at the age of 90. Doris was born at home on the farm in Montgomery County, Iowa on July 1, 1929 to parents Marion Andrew Gard and Frances Sylvia (Scherer) Gard, the third of four children. She graduated high school in Strahan, Iowa.

Doris always wanted to live on the western slope of Colorado. She fell in love with this part of the country as a child when her father took her hunting near Montrose as a teenager. She made her way to Collbran in 2006, realizing her life dream. The move was made easier because her long time friend, Hazel Place, was in Collbran. She was fiercely independent, strong-minded, a good story teller, and an avid outdoor hunting enthusiast, especially hunting deer and elk, both bow and rifle seasons. She loved the mountains and being outdoors, camping and fishing a favorite pastime. She was a crack shot with the rifle which earned her the nickname Annie Oakley. She supported her family by working. She ran her own businesses and at one time, she got her Real Estate license, buying and running an apartment house. She was the first career woman letter carrier in Englewood, Colorado.

Doris is survived by her children; Jayne Rapp (Ronald) Aerni  of Sudbury, MA and Eldon (Kerri) Achenbach of Arvada, CO; her step children Terry Baker, Joseph Gardunio and Jeffrey Gardunio; her ex-husband, Michael Gardunio; her grandchildren Giselle (James Banko) Aerni, Karen Aerni, Mikayla Achenbach, and Charles Sheridan; her three step grandchildren Alexandria, Gabriella and Kian. She is also survived by her sister, Marian Beckmann.

Per her request, Doris has been cremated and her ashes will be spread in the mountains that she loved. No service is planned. To leave an on-line memory please visit brownscremationservice.com. Donations may be made to the charity of your choice.