Anna M Leffingwell *
Anna Mae Leffingwell, 94, of Boulder, passed away in hospice on March 1, 2017, surrounded by loved ones. She is survived by her four children, Annette Woodall-Leffingwell, Jo Leffingwell, James Leffingwell, and Jon Leffingwell.
Born to Moses Shockey and Bessie Goode on February 21, 1923 in Hermiston, OR, Anna lived through some of the most trying times of the twentieth century. She often liked to joke that there was nothing “great” about the Great Depression. Indeed, she, her parents, and her eight siblings met the fate of so many families at that time, fleeing their failing farm in the wake of the financial crisis of 1929. According to family lore, they traded the farm for a rifle, and made for Colorado.
Throughout Anna’s childhood, the family moved from town to town, looking for work in the economically depressed American West. On one particularly harrowing leg of the journey, their Ford Truck was nearly knocked off the road on Colorado’s infamous Independence Pass. Despite the instability of her childhood, Anna stubbornly refused to give up her chance at an education. In each town along the way, she would sneak into the back row of the local schoolhouse for daily lessons, sometimes meeting the teacher’s scorn. Nevertheless, she persisted, and remained committed to pursuing an education throughout her life.
After a tumultuous childhood, Anna married Bill Woodall in 1941, and gave birth to her first child, Annette, in 1942. After Bill was deployed, Anna volunteered for the USO, and continued attending school when and where she could. In 1945, she purchased a car and learned to drive in the parking lot outside the dealership. She picked up her mother and four siblings in Idaho and drove them to Brighton, CO, where the family finally settled down for good.
In 1946, after she and Bill divorced, Anna fell in love with a dapper young Navy man, Jack Leffingwell. After a whirlwind romance, they were soon married, and would remain so until Jack’s death in 1985. Anna and Jack had three children: Jo in 1948, James in 1957, and Jon in 1963. They lived in Brighton for almost two decades before moving to Boulder. Throughout that time, Anna worked at the county assessor’s office, making her one of the few women in her town to maintain both a career and a family.
After moving to Boulder, Anna became a real estate agent and ran for county assessor. After an unsuccessful election in 1968, she was finally elected in 1972, and served two four-year terms. In 1978, she decided to run for governor. Despite the sacrifices this required, Anna’s family rallied around her campaign. After an unsuccessful run, Anna’s ambitions only grew, and she graduated from University of Colorado in 1982, at the age of 59, with a Bachelor’s degree in political science. She served one final term as Gilpin county commissioner in 1988, and retired in 1992 after marrying her third husband, George Dickenson. They divorced in 2007, and Anna moved to the family cabin in Rollinsville, CO.
After a life filled with hardship, adventure, and perseverance, Anna spent her last years in the Rocky Mountains she so loved, in the care of her daughter Annette, before finally moving to a nursing home. Her loved ones remember her as a vivacious, independent, strong-willed woman with a burning desire to make something of her life, no matter the circumstances.
The funeral service will be held at 11:00 am, Saturday, March 11, 2017 at St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, 2425 Colorado Ave, Boulder, CO 80302, with visitation the hour prior from 10:00 am to 11:00 am.
Memorial contributions may be made in Anna Leffingwell’s name to the Dementia Society of America.