Darlene Janet Wilson

Darlene Janet Wilson 1938 - 2009 Darlene passed away at the age of 71 on Sunday, July 19, 2009 at the Hospice & Palliative Care Center in Grand Junction after a courageous battle with ovarian cancer. Born in Marysville, CA on June 14, 1938 to James Latham and Lucille Latham Huish, Darlene had a love of animals that began in her childhood, and she would draw pictures of them for fun on typewriter paper with pencils when art supplies were hard to come by. She was raised in California and New Mexico before settling with her husband, James Wilson, in Basalt, CO in 1972 to raise a family. She joined the Glenwood Springs Art Guild and began taking commission work, narrowing her focus down to pure breed dogs. Darlene and Jim relocated to Grand Junction when their sons went to college, and in 1994, they began traveling with "RD", their rescue dog, attending dog shows across the United States to sell her limited addition prints. She has been featured on the covers of several breeder magazines and in an IAMS dog food campaign, and was a member of the Grand Junction Pastel Society. In 2007, Darlene joined CIPA, the Colorado Independent Publishers Association, as it was her dream to publish a book for her loyal customers. At the time of her passing, she was putting the finishing touches on a coffee table book to include over 30 breeds and short stories. Her family will publish the book in her memory. Darlene is survived by: her husband, James Wilson; her two sons, Stace Wilson of Snowmass Village, CO and Kipp Wilson of Colorado Springs, CO, and her two grandchildren, Madison and Colton Wilson, also of Colorado Springs. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 25 at 3:30 p.m. at the Callahan-Edfast Mortuary at 2515 Patterson Road in Grand Junction followed by a gathering of family and friends at 333 Dakota Circle. In lieu of flowers, donations in Darlene's memory can be made to the St. Mary's Cancer Center in Grand Junction.