Mary Lou (Rothrock) Meekins 87, long time area resident, died Saturday January 17, 2015 at the Sterling Living Center in Sterling. Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, January 23,2015, at the United Presbyterian Church in Fort Morgan. Interment will follow in Memory Gardens. She was born October 8, 1927, in Fort Morgan to Leslie Vernon and Carrie Ruth (Headrick) Rothrock. Lou graduated from Fort Morgan High School in 1945. She attended the University of Colorado before returning to Fort Morgan. She worked for the Phone Company, was a Farm Wife, Homemaker and worked for RE-3 School District as a secretary in the counseling office for 15 years. Lou married Melvin Hawthorne Meekins in Fort Morgan on January 31, 1948. He passed away December 25, 2012 just one month before their 65th wedding anniversary. They moved to Sterling into an assisted living facility in April 2009 to be closer to their children. Lou was a lifetime member of the Presbyterian Church and sang for a while in the church choir. She was a member of the Rainbow Girls. She volunteered as a para in Columbine Elementary school and at Caring Ministries. She was a Brownie leader and did some tutoring. She was an avid reader. She was a lover of nature, animals, and travel but her family was the most important aspect of her life. She was preceded in death by her parents, Leslie Rothrock and stepmother Frances, Carrie Mack and stepfather Charles, sister Thelma "Doad" Carnahan; three stepsisters, Elizabeth Wood, Dorothy Johnson, Lucille Graham; and great-grandchildren Taylor Nichols and Diego Pelton. Lou is survived by her two daughters, Kristin Nichols and husband Gary, Kimberly Delgado and husband Christopher; grandchildren, Celeste Pelton and husband Byron, Heather Brungardt and husband Lonnie, Travis Nichols and wife Tiffany, Brandon Nichols and wife Kristin; great-grandchildren, Mattea and Elliana Pelton, Trace and Tayson Brungardt, Peyton and Ashton Nichols, and Brayden and Ryanne Nichols, all of Sterling; brother-in-law Bob Carnahan and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Memorial gifts may be made to the Memorial Fund at the United Presbyterian Church in Fort Morgan.