Harriette Anne Walter, 88, of Brush, CO passed away peacefully on May 29, 2026 at East Morgan County Hospital in Brush.

Harriette was born April 20, 1938 to Edith (Forsman) Lee and Brice Lee in Montrose, CO. She grew up in the beautiful Uncompahgre Valley on the Lee family ranch with three siblings, Brice Jr., Marge, and Jim. She always loved returning to visit home when she was able.

At the age of 15, she earned the National 4-H Farm Safety Award and traveled to Chicago, IL to accept it.

She graduated from Montrose High School in 1956 and continued her education at Colorado State University earning her Bachelor's Degree in Home Economics.  One of her favorite stories of her college years was getting to eat a beef steak for the first time when her roommate took her to the Charco Broiler. Growing up they ate a lot of wild game because the beef they raised was for selling, not eating.

Harriette moved to Wray, CO in 1962 to take the position of Home Extension Agent for Yuma County.  That is where she met the love of her life, Dave Walter, of Haigler, NE and they married on May 4, 1963 in Montrose. This was the same day as the Kentucky Derby, and her dad and Dave were nearly late for the wedding as they were watching the race. Forty years later, Harriette and Dave had a great time celebrating their anniversary on a trip to the Kentucky Derby with a group of special friends.

Harriette and Dave lived on a farm west of Haigler, NE.  They welcomed their first son, Dennis, in 1965 and their son, Dan, joined the family in 1969. Harriette was a devoted stay-at-home mom who was always there at the boys' school sporting events as well as getting them to Little Britches Rodeos.

In 1979, Harriette took the position of Food Services Coordinator at East Yuma County School District in Wray and Idalia for 11 years. In 1987, the couple moved north of Haigler to the Walter homestead ranch where they raised cattle.

She and Dave bought the Wray livestock sale barn in 1991 and operated Ranchland Livestock Auction along with their sons. Harriette was the weigh master and weighed nearly every head of livestock that went through the barn and never missed a sale. In 1995, they moved to Wray to be closer to the sale barn business. In 2020, they retired and moved to Brush a year later.

Harriette was a member of the Yuma County Cattlewomen's Club, Wray P.E.O. organization, and Los Menoras ladies club. She enjoyed getting together with her friends on Wednesday evenings for dinner while their husbands played cards, as well as playing ladies golf in the summer. Harriette was an excellent cook and loved having family get togethers with everyone around the table. When her grandkids came in the picture, she was always in the rodeo stands, concert seats, and sports bleachers cheering them on. Of course, they loved getting to play together at Grandma's house and eating "safety food" (cookies)!

Harriette is survived by her husband of 63 years, Dave Walter; son Dennis (Lisa) Walter, Padroni, CO; son Dan (Wendy) Walter, Yuma, CO; grandchildren Levi Walter and friend Reagan Davis, Padroni, CO, Weston Walter and friend Shelby Smith, Tulsa, OK, Emma (Conner) McCoy, Eaton, CO, and Lauren Fritzler, Amarillo, TX; sister Marge Anderson, Yuma, CO, sister-in-law Renee Lee, Montrose, CO, and numerous nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents Brice and Edith Lee, mother and father-in-law Esther and Roy Walter, brother and sister-in-law Brice Jr. and Phyllis Lee, brother Jim Lee and brother-in-law Jack Anderson.

A memorial service will be held on Monday, June 8 at 1:30 pm at Heer Mortuary in Brush, CO. A reception will follow at Drover's restaurant inside the Livestock Exchange sale barn building. Memorials may be made to the Yuma County Fair in memory of Harriette Walter.

A private family inurnment will be held at a later date.