Deborah Black Chastain

Family-Placed Funeral Notice

DEBORAH BLACK CHASTAIN Age 88, died Friday, July 30 in Louisville, CO. She was born in Pelham Manor, NY on December 18, 1915 to her parents, R. Clifford and Beatrice Cluett Black. She spent her childhood both in Pelham Manor and in Colorado Springs, CO, where her mother was sent to recover from tuberculosis, a common prescription for that disease in those days. She came to prefer her time in the Rocky Mountain west over the east, and despite attending an eastern boarding school and being a New York debutante, she settled in the Denver area with her first husband, Charles Edwin Gast of Pueblo, CO, whom she married in 1935. Debby became interested in the ranching business after buying a small spread in Jelm, WY with her second husband, Oscar David Cass, in 1948. She soon realized she wanted a bigger place, and in 1952 purchased what became Cedar Creek Ranch on the South Platte River in Saratoga, WY. There she established a reputation herd of Black Angus cattle, a breed that was little known in that area at the time, but has now become the predominant breed in the modern cattle industry. With the assistance of her ranch manager, Ed Sholine, Debby also was in the forefront in introducing hybrid vigor in her herd with the use of artificial insemination technology. In 1955, Debby married her third husband, Robert Lee Chastain of Palm Beach, FL. He died in 1966. When she wasn't busy working her ranch, she was busy with a number of boards in and outside the cattle industry. Chief among these was her appointment as one of the first women on the board of directors of the National Western Stock Show in Denver. She was also passionate about the history and archaeology of the west, and was on the boards of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and the Buffalo Bill History Center Library in Cody, Wyoming. She was also instrumental in starting up and serving on the board of the Saratoga, WY Historical Society. And her interest in the Indian artifacts found scattered on her ranch property led to a long association with the Wyoming Archaeology Assn. and the Archeological Conservancy. Survivors include her sons: Robert S. Gast of Reno, NV, Charles E. Gast of Sonoma, CA, and David C. Cass of Lafayette, CO; her daughter Judith Cameron, also of Lafayette; and her stepson, Thomas Chastain of Palm Beach, FL. She had 12 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. She is survived by her brother, Andrews D. Black of San Francisco, and was preceded in death by her brother, Robert C. Black III; and sister, Judith B. Duffy. Debby touched the lives of all of her children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews, who spent time in their youth on her beautiful ranch. She will be missed by all who knew her. A memorial service is planned in Boulder, CO on September 24. Memorials may be made to the Alzheimer's Assn. Colorado Chapter, 455 Sherman St #500, Denver, CO 80203; or go online to www.alz.org/donate .