Lida Lee Magness

Lida Lee Magness passed away in Denver, Colorado on August 7, 2015.

Lida possessed an unfailing reservoir of faith (especially in God and her family) and hope (that the best in everyone would find its way out and triumph). But what Lida really excelled at was love. Her sweet love was expressed as thoughtfulness, kindness, patience and friendship. When people miss her, they will miss that feeling that she believed in them. She did.

Lida was born on October 18, 1924 in Pittsburg, Kansas. She graduated from Kansas State College, and from Washington University School of Nursing in St. Louis, Missouri. She married Charles William Urquhart in 1948, and they were blessed with two children, Kenneth Michael and Charlotte Kay before moving to Texas in 1954. They lost their husband and father Charles in an auto accident in 1957. Lida married her second husband, John Magness, in 1961 and immediately become mother to three teens, Raymond James, John Kennith and Francis Ann. In 1962, their son William Lee completed a “yours, mine and ours” group of six siblings who loved her deeply. She cherished the memory of loved ones who passed before her, including her husband John; sons Jimmy, Kennith, and Ken; and her parents Helen Hartman and John Schasteen.

Lida was an active community leader for fifty years in Orange, Texas, for the Red Cross, Camp Fire Girls, and many other local organizations. She was active in the Catholic communities everywhere she lived, including St. Mary Church (in Orange), Emmaus Catholic Church (in Austin, TX), and Christ the King (in Evergreen, Colorado). She enjoyed arts and crafts of all kinds, was an expert seamstress and master of stained glass creations. Her works are installed in homes in Texas and Colorado.

Lida was blessed with 11 grandchildren and many great and great-great grandchildren. Lida and her sister Jean grew up in Kansas but spent many summers in Colorado, where she developed a love of the mountains. She was excited to move to Colorado in 2007, where she lived out her last years with her daughter Charlotte. She passed away peacefully in the night, two months shy of her 91st birthday. She will be laid to rest in Orange, Texas on August 21, 2015.

A service will be held for Lida at St. Mary Church in Orange, Texas, at 10:00 AM on August 21, 2015. A graveside service will follow at St. Mary Cemetery. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, any memorials to Lida be made as contributions to Clayton Early Learning, 3801 Martin Luther King Blvd., Denver, CO 80205 ( http://www.claytonearlylearning.org/support-us/donate ).

Claybar Funeral Home in Orange is assisting the family with the service.