Duane Saunders

1950 - 2022

Duane Christine Saunders, 71, of 10 Vista Avenue, Bradford, passed away on Monday (Jan. 24, 2022) at the Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio.
Duane was born Oct. 14, 1950, in Oklahoma City, Okla., a daughter of the late Louis James and Betty Jo (Wilson) Ray. She was a graduate of Classen High School in Oklahoma City, and the University of Oklahoma. She completed Airline Flight Attendant School in Chicago with United Airlines, with whom she was employed as a flight attendant for more than ten years.
On July 28, 1973, Duane became the beautiful and loving wife of Robert "Bob" Saunders. She was the proud mother of two sons, Ryan Saunders (his wife, KC), of Boulder, Colo., and Blake Saunders, of Winter Park, Colo. She was the adoring Mamaw of Ryan and KC's daughters, Petra and Naomi, whom she referred to as her little angels.
Duane had a smile and a warmth that lit up a room. She never met a stranger, striking up impromptu conversations with people wherever she went. She was a lover of nature, from the beauty of the Colorado snow to the warmth of the ocean, where she had homes and enjoyed
friendships from Bradford, to Heathrow, Fla., to Winter Park, Colo. She and her family loved to travel. She was always very athletic, loved to ski, run and hike. She was a great water skier and enjoyed boating with friends and family at the Kinzua Dam and Granby Lake in Colo. She was an avid golfer, belonging to the Pennhills Club in Bradford and the Heathrow Country Club in Florida.
She was always involved in the community of Bradford and was engaged in numerous charitable organizations. She was a longtime board member of the YMCA in Bradford. She was very active in the formative years of The Learning Center, where her sons attended. She loved taking her sons and their friends to ski at Holiday Valley and other places.
Duane was active and healthy all of her life, but very recently was faced with a very rare and fast-moving form of cancer.
She was dearly loved by her siblings, Lynn Carol Pannell and her husband, Bob, of Coastal, S.C.; Luanne Wible of Edmond, Okla.; and Louie Ray and fiancé, Heather, of Granby, Colo. and Cocoa Beach, Fla. Louie's selfless and generous gift of a kidney extended Duane's life for over
a decade. She equally loved her brother-in-law, Bart (Lisa) Saunders of Orlando, Fla. and Ellicottville, N.Y., and sister-in-law, Sue Saunders, of Winter Park, Fla. Duane is also survived by several nieces and nephews, all of whom she adored.
Friends will be invited to attend a Celebration of Life at a later date, which will be announced.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Hollenbeck-Cahill Funeral Homes Inc.
Memorial contributions if desired may be made to Project Sanctuary, P.O. Box 1563, Granby CO 80446 or www.projectsanctuary.us, The Learning Center, Bradford, or a charity of the donor's choice.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.hollenbeckcahill.com