Obituarry

Anna Elizabeth Orgeron

Anna Elizabeth Orgeron passed away peacefully on February 27th, 2023, after bravely battling many medical ailments with her son and family by her side.

Anna was born in Mountain Home, Idaho, on March 26, 1956, to Arnold Malloy Groff and Helga Johanna Anna (nee Wehn). Anna is survived by her husband Joseph Paul Orgeron (Gator), youngest son Robert Arnold Bobbett, sister Cora Ellan Tyson (Charles Barry), brother Arnold Helmut Groff and many nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews who called her Tanta Anna.
Preceded in death by her parents, sister Crystal Lynn Radley and oldest son Christopher C. Bobbett. Anna was medically retired from the U.S. Air Force as a Staff Sergeant in 1989 after serving for 15 years as a computer systems analyst for the 961 AWACS. She was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, for 5 1/2 years with her young sons and that is where she met her husband Joe who is also retired U.S. Air Force.
Anna and Gator retired to Colorado where they lived in Westcliffe. They were high up in the mountains living out their dreams in the beautiful Sangre De Cristo Mountains. She was active in the American Legion and worked devotedly for wildlife rescue.
Anna and Joe came to Greenville, NC, in 2017 to be closer to her sister Cora and her family. Cora was a wonderful caregiver, sister and companion to Anna. Anna and Cora spent every day together and were so close they finished each others sentences. They enjoyed gardening, taking care of their chickens, decorating for every holiday and spending time with the family. Anna was a kind soul that loved animals and was always quick to joke and laugh with a happy smile and bright eyes.
A Celebration of Life is planned for Noon Sunday March 26, 2023, at Cora and Barry’s house. 215 Hardee Rd. Greenville, NC 27858.
Memorial contributions may be sent to Tunnels to Towers Foundation at https://t2t.org/donate/

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Wayne D. Seifert of Cañon City, CO, who passed away on February 12th, 2023. Wayne was born July 4, 1953, in Cañon City, to Linley and Ruth (Stettler) Seifert. Wayne grew up in Westcliffe, and attended Custer County High School where he played many sports. Wayne worked at Colorado Refractories-BMI for over 25 years. He then worked at Holcim for 19 years, retiring in 2018. He loved working in the quarry and kept track of how many miles he drilled (1,490,965 ft, to be exact).
After he retired, he looked forward to helping his brother, Jerry, put up hay in Westcliffe, helping his friend, Rick, with mitigation jobs and catching up with his many friends. Wayne enjoyed flying, fishing, hunting, arrowhead hunting, col-lecting firewood, playing horseshoes and riding his four wheeler.
Wayne will be missed by his wife of 49 years, Sandra Kay (Pearce) Seifert; his daughters, Sarah (Kent) Cooper of Pueblo
and Elizabeth (Pierre) Gamache of Cañon City; six granddaughters, Marley, Kaitlyn, Abbey, Juliana, Lucy and Summer; his siblings, Jerry Seifert, Janie Schlosser, Joyce Thornal, Bonnie Jansen, Holly Giroux and Steve Seifert and numerous nieces and nephews.
Wayne was preceded in death by his parents, his brothers, Jimmy, Jack and Kenny and one niece and nephew.
Services are pending and will be announced online at holtfamilyfuneralhome.com.

Update: A Memorial Service will be held Saturday April 22, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Custer County School located at 709 Main Street in Westcliffe, Colorado.
Services for Wayne’s sister-in-law, Mary Seifert will be held at the same time and location.

9/1930 – 2/2023

Rodolfo Mateo Barrio was born in El Cero, Provincial de Habana, Cuba.
As a young man, his father was a train engineer in Cuba, running trains from coast to coast. This is where his fascination of trains began. Rudy had a strong work ethic and felt he needed to pursue job opportunities in the U.S. With $200 borrowed from his father, his legal papers in hand, and not knowing a word of English, he boarded a plane on PAN-AM Airlines from Cuba to Kennedy Airport, NY then to New Jersey.
There he worked at the Toostie Roll factory, learned to weld and began working on boilers and buoys at Worthington Pump Co., then he worked at a Sheet Metal Company.
Rudy met his wife of almost 64 years, Esther Chavez who is also from Cuba, born at the El Rosier Farm, Alquizar, Cuba. She worked as a cosmetologist at the NYC Plaza and Sheraton Hotels.
Esther told her mother, she thought he was too skinny. Her mother replied, “don’t worry, we’ll fatten him up, besides, he has strong legs”.
They married in April of 1959 in the Bronx, NY.
After they were married, Esther learned to become an incredible cook and their home was known for feeding the masses.
In the early 1960s they moved to Miami, FL, where they raised their three children.

Rudy received his GED and then earned his Electrical and Refrigeration certifications. Rudy was also an avid reader – everything from history to politics. While in Florida, he worked for the Wendy’s Corporation fixing their equipment throughout southern Florida, even the Bahamas. Rudy was never without a tool in his hands, always looking for something to fix. He was always working on a project.
His passion, however, was for Cuban orchestra music of his time. He loved the orchestras and African influences. Benny Morè was the greatest Cuban singer and his number one favorite. ‘Lajas Mi Rincon Criollo de Benny Morè was a favorite of Rudy’s along with, Perez Prado, Orchestra Aragon and Celia Cruz. He also loved ‘Let It Be’ by the Beatles.
He had an ear for that cuban beat and rhythms and loved to beat on the ‘tumbadoras’, (large congo drums).
You would never see him sitting when he heard that beat- he would always be on his feet dancing!
In 2020, Rudy and Esther, Danny and Lisa moved in with their daughter and son-in-law, Barb and Ron Beckner in Westcliffe, CO. He enjoyed helping Ron around the property, at the rodeo grounds, with runs to Ace Hardware. He enjoyed meeting the wonderful new friends and incredible neighbors.
Rudy lived life…and it was blessed because of his love for his wife Esther. She made sure he was well taken care of and always with her.
Rodolfo Mateo Barrio is survived by his wife Esther Barrio, children, Barbara (Ron) Barrio Beckner and Robert (Christy) Solano and his by grandchildren, Jonny (Candelario) Saldana,
Chichi Barrio, Madison Barrio, in-laws, Lisa
(Danny) Hernandez and Antonio Manuel Chavez, and many, many wonderful nieces and nephews. Rudy was preceded in death by his son Rodolfo Barrio.
In lieu of flowers, donations are being accepted through the Custer County School District. Please make checks out to The Custer County School District and in the memo line please put ‘Rudy Barrio/welding lab’. Mail checks to The Custer County School District c/o Donna Newell, 709 Main Street, CO 81252.