Mary Jo Merriman

Mary Jo Merriman (Macdonald) passed away at home on Thursday, November 5, 2015 with her husband Michael at her side. Mary Jo was born in Dubuque, Iowa to Mary Frances (Soppe) and Joseph Anderson Macdonald and spent her childhood in Freeport, IL. She graduated from St. Joseph’s Mercy Hospital (Dubuque Iowa) in 1964 with a diploma in Nursing provided by the state of Illinois and was contracted to work for the Illinois Pediatric/Psychiatric Institutes for the following five years. During this time she traveled frequently with friends and discovered her love of the mountains and skiing in Colorado. Shortly after completing her contract she moved to Colorado and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science from Loretto Heights College in Denver, CO. She held various nursing positions throughout the greater Denver area for the next seven years before moving on to work in the medical equipment sales field, and finally in real estate through the mid 1980’s. In the late 1980’s she reconnected with an old flame, the love of her life, Michael Merriman and the two were married in 1991. Mary Jo loved nature and was an avid skier in her younger years and belonged to the Schussbaumer ski club in Breckenridge. She enjoyed hiking, photography, traveling with her friends and family and spending time with her gambling buddies in Blackhawk and Las Vegas. She cherished spending time with new friendships at her winter home in Arizona. She was very loved and she will be missed by so many. She was preceded in death by her parents, Mary Francis and Joseph Anderson Macdonald. She is survived by her husband Michael Merriman and his children Ashley Merriman (Justin Ling), Tanner Merriman and Morgan Merriman, her siblings Mike Macdonald (Rosario), Patricia Aurand (Ken), John Macdonald (Sarah), Bill Macdonald (Marilyn), Dave Macdonald (Karen) and many nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at 1:30 pm, Saturday, November 14, 2015 at Allnutt Funeral Service's Drake Road Chapel in Fort Collins. A reception will follow the service in their reception center. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Pathways Hospice in Fort Collins (via www.pathways-care.org) or the charity of your choosing in Mary Jo's name in care of Goes Funeral Care, 3665 Canal Dr., #E, Fort Collins, CO 80524.

Mary Jo Merriman

March 14, 1943 - November 5, 2015