Arleen Marie DeGree

Arleen Marie (Garnhart) DeGree passed away May 21, 2025, at the age of 85. She was
born on April 6, 1940, to Anna S. and Stoddard L. Garnhart of Pueblo, CO. A
memorial service will be held at 10:30 am on June 23rd at Lange Hall in Westcliffe, CO.
Internment will follow at the Assumption Cemetery following the service. All are
welcome to attend.
In childhood, Arleen was nicknamed "Mickey" by her beloved grandmother. The name
stuck, and she became Mickey, Mick, or Aunt Mickey to many.
She teased that she didn't get her "DeGree" until she was twenty-seven years old when
she met Robert Eugene DeGree, in Pueblo at the Silver Saddle dance hall. Robert and
Arleen, also called Gene and Mickey, were married on February 3rd, 1968.
The newlyweds made their home on the DeGree Ranch in Westcliffe, CO, where
Mickey began living what she called "The Best Life." She loved the ranch, the view of
the mountains from her living room window, and the animals that came with the ranch.
Her favorite animals were the cows and cats. She made a habit of befriending and
naming her favorite cows. Valentine, Sweetie, and Mrs. Gonzalez were but a few of her
favorite bovines. The only animals that she despised on the ranch were snakes and a
particular leghorn rooster that took a disliking to her the first year on the ranch. She told
Robert either the rooster went, or she did. The rooster was gone by nightfall. Eugene,
as she called Robert, wasn't a dumb man. He knew his Mick was a keeper.
As a ranch wife, Mickey became accustomed to muddy boots on her freshly mopped
kitchen floor, pouring cups of coffee for many ranch visitors at all times of the day,
entertaining newborn calves in the kitchen while they warmed up out of the bitter cold,
feeding branding crews, and a multitude of other jobs she did as a cattlewoman. She
kept the best genealogy records for the ranch in a book she labeled "The National
Enquirer."
She enjoyed having her Pueblo family visit the ranch. She also loved taking a much-
deserved a break from the ranch by heading to Las Vegas or New Mexico with Eugene
and her family to spend time at the penny slot machines.
Arleen and Robert never had children, so they willingly chose to spoil their three nieces.
Denise, Jeri Lynn, and LeAnn DeGree, who lived next door. Aunt Mickey, as her nieces
lovingly called her, could always be counted on for home perms, pierced ears, shopping
for makeup, and birthday parties, which she held for them every year at her home. Later
in life, she offered them her wisdom and love.
Mickey enjoyed driving her Oliver tractor, Ollie, in the hayfield as she raked, but she
didn't like to bale, despite being good at it. She never refused the many rides on Ollie that
her nieces requested, making her a favorite in the hayfield.
During her years on DeGree Ranch, Mickey, Robert, Jerome, and Carolyn DeGree
worked hard to pay off all the land, the equipment, and the houses. They succeeded in
doing all of those things, bringing Mickey great pride that all their hard work paid off.
She spoke often of how proud they were to own everything free and clear.
In recognition of their hard work and longevity as ranch owners, the state of Colorado
awarded them for being a Centennial Ranch. Arleen and her partners were also named
Ranch Family of the year in Westcliffe.
Mickey didn't get to spend the rest of her life with Eugene but, he got to spend the rest
of his life with her. In 2012, he passed away shortly after their 44 th anniversary. He was
the love of her life, and she never stopped missing him. She talked to him every night in
bed, telling him about her day and how much she missed him. The ranch wasn't the
same for her without him, so she quietly retired and moved to Florence, CO, with her
cats and his dog, Fritz. She enjoyed growing peonies and watching Dr. Pol in her
retirement. She passed her time texting her nieces, brother, and loved ones as she
checked on them.
She sometimes regretted leaving the ranch where she lived her best life at. She missed the
cows, the mountains, and her partners, Jerome and Carolyn DeGree, but the wonderful
memories of the time spent with Eugene were too poignant to remain at the ranch
without him.
In her last years, she bragged about being spoiled by her P.P.s, a special name she
gave Jeri Lynn and LeAnn, after a funny event at the ranch. She loved that she was
dubbed the "Matriarch" after she grew melancholy about being the last of the DeGree
Ranch partners who was still alive. She never understood why she lived longer than
they did. Her nieces knew it was because they needed her to stay and lead the family a
bit longer.
Her brother, Rohn Garnhart, reconnected with Arleen once she retired. She took great
pride in reminiscing and sharing stories with him about her best life on the ranch.
Whether one called her Arleen or Mickey, she was equally loved and will be greatly
missed by them.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert Eugene DeGree, her mother, Anna
Garnhart, her father, Stoddard L. Garnhart, and her partners and in-laws, Jerome and
Carolyn DeGree.
Mickey is survived by her nieces Jeri Lynn (Kurt) Thornton, LeAnn D. (Stewart) King,
and Denise M. (Vince) Koch and their families, her brother Rohn Garnhart, and her
cousins Carol (Paul) Cochran, Denise (Dennis) Naylon, Alan (Susan) Perryman, Kurt
Perryman, Andrea Williamson, and Darian (Phillip) Garbiso.
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of Arleen Marie (Garnhart) DeGree, please visit our floral store.