Marie Westhoff, longtime resident of Wiggins, Colorado, passed away Friday, September 12, 2014, at the home of her daughter, Barb Carter, in Aurora, CO, where she has lived for the past 3 1/2 years. At her bedside to see her into eternity were her four youngest children. She was 93 years old. She was born December 22, 1920, in Denver, the third child of Lucien & Irene (Malo) Harris. Her two older siblings, Miles and Malo, did in January of 1920 from the influenza that ravaged the world following World War 1. She had two younger siblings, Jane Light who died in April 2012, and James Harris who died in August of 2013. Marie grew up in Fort Morgan and graduated from high school there. The family lived for a time during the Depression in Los Angeles, CA, where Marie attended Notre Dame Catholic School. She completed two years of college at Colorado A & M (now Colorado State). She then taught in a one room schoolhouse for a year before her marriage to Vernon Westhoff on June 11, 1941. Vernon and Marie lived their entire married life of 54 years on their 320 acre farm southwest of Wiggins where they raised their eight children, Anne, Jim, John, Dave, Kath, Barb, Pete, and Wendy. Most of her time was spent raising her children, but she also dedicated time to Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Wiggins where she was a catechist in the religious education program and served as president of the Altar and Rosary Society. Gardening of both vegetables and flowers, cooking, shopping, eating out and rooting for the New York Yankees were a few of her favorite things to do. In her later years, she was very involved in the lives of her fourteen grandchildren, Brian and Brent Westhoff; Anthony, David, Erin, Sam and Valerie Carter; Michael, Philip, Chris, Tom and Jacob Whittum; Jason Magbitang and her two great grandchildren Patrick and Zoe Westhoff. After the death of her husband Vernon in 1995, she remained on the farm with her son John who continued farming the land. John died in 2004, and Marie then lived with two of her children, Anne and Pete in Manassas, Virginia, for three years before returning to the farm with Pete. They moved to Aurora to live with Barb and her family in March of 2011. Marie bore the cross of Alzheimer's for nearly fourteen years of her life. The family is especially appreciative of the man fine priests both in Virginia and Colorado who tended to her spiritual needs through these years, and most especially for the heroic dedication of Father John Riley of the St. Augustine Institute who offered home Masses, anointed her often and gave her Holy Viaticum two days before her death. The vigil for Marie was led by Father Riley and the Requiem Mass was offered by Father Carlos Bello. Both rituals were held at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Wiggins. Burial was at the Hoyt Cemetery. The family is very appreciative of the relatives, neighbors, and other friends who were present at the rites, especially those who came from a distance including our Aunt Martha Harris and our cousins, Lucien Harris and wife Sherry, and Tom Harris and wife Rita, Greg Hanley, Joan Hartland, Barbara Womac, and Debbie Tolar all from Houston, TX, Jane Pennesfather and Ruth McCaa of Manassas, Virginia, friends of the family, and Linda Cummings from Billings, Nontana. The family also wishes to thank Marcus Daly of Marian Caskets for the beautiful engraved pine coffin and Mairin Scheetz, friend of the family, for the lovely hand stitched linen and satin pall, and the for the attentive and respectful services of the Heer Mortuary staff. We also thank those who enhanced the ceremonies with music;, cousins Betty and Jerry Sauter, and Connie Klausner, and family friends Judy Busch, John and Paul Kopetzky, and we thank the Altar and Rosary Society of Our Lady of Lourdes for providing and serving the funeral dinner. Marie is survived by her children Anne Carroll of Manassas, VA, Jim of Wiggins, David and Beth of Reno, NV, Kath and Joe Kopetzkey of Wiggins, Barb Carter of Aurora, CO Pete both of Wiggins, and Wendy Whittum of Fort Morgan; and all of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. .