Lynne Lois Bear

It is with a heavy heart and great sorrow I write of Lynne Bear's passing on October 12, 2025. After taking my mother to the ER in Delta, doctors found a small bowel obstruction and began efforts to clear it without surgery. Around 6:30 on Saturday, she became unresponsive until around 11 pm, when I was able to talk with her until she went into a deep sleep before her passing just before 1 pm on Sunday.

Lynne was born on June 24, 1927, to Faye and Emery Holder at 335 Orchard Avenue, the maternity ward in Paonia. Lynne went to school in Paonia and graduated in 1945. In 1947, Lynne married Maurice, a cowboy. She followed him to Alaska in 1949, where they would later welcome Danial Holvoet, my brother, into their home. They moved back to Colorado where I, Jeffrey Holvoet, was born in Delta. Both Lynne and Maurice returned to Alaska for a few years, but Lynne returned to Paonia, divorcing Maurice in 1963. Lynne opened a small cafe named The Purple Cow at 220 Grand Avenue in Paonia. It was at her cafe that she met Charles Bear Sr., who had lost his previous wife in a tragic car crash. Lynne and Charlie were married in October of 1963. Charlie had two children– Betty, who had already married and moved out of state, and Charles Bear Jr. The five of us lived together in Paonia until Chuck graduated and moved to Alaska, where he married his wife, Susan. Lynne went to beautician school in Grand Junction. After graduating, she and Charlie bought the theatre and its adjacent buildings and opened a beauty shop, where she worked until she retired. Charlie worked at the Bear Coal Company, which he helped his father, Tony, open when he was 14. He worked there until he retired.

Lynne and Charlie loved to travel, journeying as far east as Niagara Falls. Together, they made many more trips to Alaska. Lynne loved her LDS church, her family, and painting landscapes. She was active in the Paonia Chamber of Commerce and was the head of Cherry Days celebrations for several years.

Lynne was preceded in death by her mother, Faye Holder; her father, Emery Holder; her older brother, Lyal Holder, who died in a climbing accident in 1982; her first husband, Maurice Holvoet, in 1999; and her husband, Charles Bear, in 2003.

Lynne is survived by her sister, Laurel Gallegos, stepdaughter Betty Henderson, stepson Charles Bear Jr., son Danial Holvoet, and son Jeffrey Holvoet. She has eight grandchildren: Heather, Justin, & Jonathan from Dan; Barry, Terry, & Jerry from Betty; Traca & Brittany from Charles Bear Jr. Lynne has 21 great-grandchildren, 19 great-great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-great-grandchild, along with many nieces and nephews and many, many friends. She will be deeply missed by all.

A service for Lynne will be held on Saturday, October 25 at 2pm at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Paonia, Colorado. A graveside service will follow at Cedar Hill Cemetery, with a dinner at the Church to follow.