After four and a half years, Anne Jeffries succumbed to ovarian cancer on April 17th. She lost the battle, but she never stopped fighting.
How does a little girl growing up in Kentucky end up having an incredible life in Colorado? Raised by amazing parents, Henry Clay and Henrietta Prewitt Evans, and great neighbors, Anne Kenney spent hours in nice weather on the glider reading. If not reading, then hours playing Monopoly, Go Fish, Battle, and Tripoly on the big front porch with Mary Burkley and Margaret Preston.
Anne attended Ashland Elementary where she met Sharon Blackburn (Thelin) in 3rd grade, still a lifelong dear friend. Anne then went to Morton Jr High and became fast friends with Susan Booker. What great times, experiences and trips Anne had with Susan and her parents.
In 6th grade she met Judy Fisher (Keckich) and not too many years later they decided they would move after college graduation. Anne Kenney said she would go anywhere but Atlanta.
Anne graduated from Henry Clay High School and the University of Kentucky with a degree in Library Science and a minor in History. She was also an active member of Pi Beta Phi sorority. True to their word, Anne and Judy chose to move and drove to Denver, CO after graduation to find jobs. Anne got hired as the librarian at Northglenn High School. They returned home to Kentucky for the summer to save up money before moving to Colorado permanently in August. Anne and Judy moved into a brand new apartment and then Judy met her future husband and they married in Lexington, KY the next summer.
It took a few years, but Anne found the love of her life, Stephen Forrest Jeffries, a fifth generation Coloradoan. He was a third year patrolman with the Denver Police Department and loved his job. By retirement he had worked his way up to Deputy Chief of the DPD. He changed Anne’s life completely, even getting her skiing well enough to get down the mountain which was a big change from their first date when she lied about knowing how ski when he asked her to hit the slopes! Steve and Anne were married on June 26th, 1971 in Denver, CO at Montview Presbyterian. They took the train to Mexico for their honeymoon. They arrived in Mexico City where they rented a car and drove to Taxco, Acapulco, and Monterrey where they then flew home to Colorado to start their life together.
They fished, camped and four-wheeled their way all over Colorado and that got the travel bug in them. But before setting off on their own adventures, most summers were spent driving to Kentucky with the girls where Steve would meet them at the end of summer for the drive back, but not before helping Anne’s father with his “chores” that were always a source for great stories to tell friends back in Colorado.
Anne retired from Northglenn HS in 1993, and Steve retired from the police department in 1995. They then set off to see the world via cruises, tours and many locations on their own. Their travels took them to all seven continents, the Arctic Circle, and over 100 countries. Anne loved London, Istanbul, and India, but her favorite place on earth was Botswana. They ended up there three times including the last trip she took. Anne was amazed and inspired by the trips to Botswana, a country known for the protection and conservation of wild animals.
She is survived by Steve, their daughters Kenney Prewitt Jeffries (Brenda) of Boise, ID and Nancy Colleen Kuschinsky of Grosse Pointe Woods, MI and her sons Isaac and Dane. She is also survived by her “always there” sister, Nancy Katherine Meng (Thomas) of Lexington, KY and their children William Evans Meng of Lexington, KY and Katherine Ellis Chatham (Cory) of Richmond, VA and their son Camden. Also survived by her brother, Henry Prewitt Evans (Mildred) of Ft. Wright, KY and their son Dr. David Clay Evans (Allison) of Columbus, OH and their daughters Greta and Lucy.
Anne is preceded in death by her mother, Henrietta Prewitt Evans and her father, Henry Clay Evans.
Services will be held in both Denver, CO and Lexington, KY. Funeral Service in Denver will be on FRIDAY at 11 AM at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 2100 Wadsworth Blvd. 80214. Visit storkfamilymortuary.com. This will be followed by a service in Lexington, KY at Kerr Brothers Funeral Home on Main Street on Tuesday, April 25, 2017 at 10 AM. Burial will be at Machpelah Cemetery in Mt. Sterling, KY.
Anne requested no one wear black at the celebrations of her life! She wants everyone in bright colors.
She also asked that no flowers be sent no matter how small or beautiful. She instead asked that a donation be made to one of her favorite charities.
Wild Animal Sanctuary – wildanimalsanctuary.org Heifer Project International – heifer.org International Hearing Dog, Inc. – hearingdog.org
