Martha Clarke Lutz

Martha was born in Sweet Home, Arkansas in 1913 to Emmil and Marie Schlegel. The youngest of 2 brothers & 1 sister, she grew up in the Little Rock area. Her brother Charlie stayed in Little Rock as a diesel mechanic and avid fisherman but her other brother Ralph & sister Margaret had moved west to Denver cause trout taste’s better. Martha followed their example and moved west also, during which time she married John “Jack” Dennis Clarke, a US Navy veteran and headed to Las Vegas, Nevada. While there she gave birth to her only child, a son, Richard “Dick” Clarke. Since her nearest kin were ‘back east’ in Denver, they moved to Denver in 1946 in time for the big blizzard. She was primarily a housewife but also worked with Ralph & Margaret in the food prep business. Jack died of pneumonia complications in 1947and Martha later met & married Andrew Lutz in 1958. Andy was a single parent with 5 sons & 3 daughters so housekeeping took on a new meaning. Andy was also caring for his father at his home in the Westwood area of Denver. Martha always had a sense of humor & an instant retort. The depression made ‘frugal’ a word to live by and mom would walk to save bus fare which kept her lean & in shape for gardening & other busy work. She & Andy moved to New Castle on the western slope and later moved back to Dacono in northern Colorado. Andy died while in Dacono and her son Dick found a house for her in Loveland & moved her further north. Her grandson Arthur “Rich” Clarke was always a bright part of her week when he would visit & talk or give her a ride to get groceries or ice cream. When Rich got married in Key Largo in 2001, a side trip to Key West was made & mom walked nearly every street, setting the pace. When mom hit the mid 90's, she started showing signs of dementia and after several occurrences that could have been much worse, she moved to the Sterling House assisted living home in Ft Collins. During one evening she went ‘walk about’ several times, setting off door alarms and making a move next door to Clare Bridge a necessity. There she made new friends with other residents & staff and thrived in that environment. She was very mobile for a 97 year old until January when she fell & the hospital doctors found she had a terminal illness. Pathways Hospice and Clare Bridge helped make her last days peaceful and comfortable and she passed into the next life on a sunny Sunday, the 23rd. Martha was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers & sister, and her husbands Jack Clarke and Andrew Lutz. Remaining family is Dick & Ann Clarke, grandson Rich Clarke, great-granddaughter Delaney Dillon Clarke and step-children Albert, Gene, Arnie & Robert Lutz and Martha Pennington(Lutz), Violet Schmitt(Lutz), and Rose Stein(Lutz) and their children & grandchildren. Mom asked for cremation & no service but a memorial get-together is planned for St Patty’s day, time & place TBA. You made us proud! RIP. Goes funeral home is granting her last wish. There is no viewing planned. Memorial contributions may be made to the Larimer County Humane Society or to Pathways Hospice.

Martha Clarke Lutz

March 17, 1913 - January 23, 2011