Obituary of Virginia M. Malone

Virginia May Malone was born April 5, 1935 to Henry and Catherine (Jostes) Pelle on their farm north of Stratton, Colorado. She was raised with 8 siblings and attended St. Charles Academy through the 8th grade. Virginia graduated from Stratton High School in 1953 and was married to John Park Malone on July 30 of the same year at St. Charles Catholic Church. They were blessed with 9 children – Jack, Don, Ken, Russ, Mark, Beverly, Jim, Trudi, and Rob. Virginia spent many years as a homemaker while raising her family. She always had a huge garden that supplied food for the following year. Virginia canned hundreds of quarts of tomatoes that were used in stews and sauces. She also made pickles, jellies and jams and anything else she could get her hands on. Virginia made everything from scratch to feed her family – many loaves of bread, homemade pizza, and cinnamon rolls. None of this lasted long before the next batch had to be made. In addition to her garden, Virginia also enjoyed sewing, embroidery, quilting, crocheting, and painting ceramics. Many of her handmade items were featured at the annual church bazaar. She was especially proud of her homemade pie crusts, hand embroidery and hand quilting. Her needlework was exceptional! In the ‘70s, Park and Virginia began a custom haying business. She drove a tractor and baler every day of the summer until they retired the business. Virginia worked many years in the office at the Stratton Sale Barn. Virginia utilized her knowledge of cooking for a big family when she worked for the Stratton School District as a cook. She hated to see kids throw away good food! After she retired, she found much enjoyment in keeping up with the Colorado Rockies and Denver Broncos. This was always a topic of conversation at her house, even though her kids didn’t enjoy her newfound interest. Jim would entertain the topic, but he wanted to talk Dallas Cowboys instead. Her TV was either on sports, western movies, or EWTN (the Catholic station). Virginia was a lifetime member of St. Charles Catholic Church. She was an active member of the Altar and Rosary Society and helped serve many funeral dinners. Virginia played an integral role in the Prayer Park formation and sang in the choir. Virginia was a woman of strong faith which helped her endure the many crosses she had to bear. Virginia entered her eternal home on Friday, June 12, 2020 at the age of 85 years after a courageous battle with lung cancer. She was preceded in death by her husband Park (1985), children Mark (1959), Ken (1979) and Beverly (2019), parents Hank and Catherine Pelle, siblings Mildred, Donald, Betty, Harold, Doris, and Bud, daughter-in-law Paula Malone and granddaughter Angie Malone. Left to cherish her memory are children Jack of Grand Junction, Don (Joyce) of Stratton, Russ (Dareline) of Vona, Jim (Cindy) of Evans, Trudi (Doug) Schiel of North Platte, NE, and Rob of Stratton, son-in-law Glen Doddridge of Kirk, sisters Donna Rae of Hays, KS and Diane of Palisade, 13 grandchildren and many great grandchildren. Memorials may be made to St. Charles Altar and Rosary Society and may be left at or sent to Love Funeral Home, 377 15th Street, Burlington, Colorado 80807.