Mary Jo “Jodi” King passed away peacefully on Monday, June 10th, at Vali Assisted Living in Westcliffe, Colorado. Mary Jo,
affectionately known as “Jodi,” was born March 4, 1941, in Topeka,
Kansas, to Carl and Laura Rieck. She was the oldest of two girls, Karla being the youngest. Jodi grew up in Burlingame, Kansas, but spent her high school and college years in Lamar, Colorado. She eventually moved back to Kansas, where she met the love of her life, Allen “Al” King. She married Al on June 17, 1966, and immediately became a military wife living all across the United States, even spending two years in Germany. In 1972, along with being a caring and supportive wife, she became a mother to their first child, Kellie, and in 1974, she welcomed their second child, Tracie, and their family was complete. In 1975, Al and Jodi moved back to Topeka, Kansas, to build a life and raise their girls.
In 2001, after 25 years of employment at the Security Benefit Life Insurance, Jodi retired, and she and Al were finally able to move and settle down in Westcliffe, Colorado. She was an active member of Community United Methodist Church for several decades, where she contributed not only her resources but her time. In her retirement, she enjoyed crossword puzzles, solitaire, and spending quality time with friends and family. After her beloved Allen passed in 2017, nothing was more important to Jodi than being the family matriarch, participating in the lives of her daughters and grandchildren. Jodi was a private woman with a wry sense of humor and a no-nonsense personality, but that honesty made her both funny and endearing. The King family legacy of dedication to God, family, and community will live on through her daughters and her grandchildren who were the joy of her life.
Prior to his passing, Jodi was able to celebrate 50 years of marriage to Al. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Allen King, and her younger sister, Karla. She is survived by her two daughters, Kellie and Tracie King, as well as her grandchildren, Sydney Borgen, Seani Millard, Danny Cain, and Jaymes Cain.
The celebration of life service for Mary Jo “Jodi” King will be held at Community United Methodist Church at 202 S 6th Street, Westcliffe on Saturday, August 3rd at 11:30 a.m.
Sangres Art Guild is pleased to announce the 1st and 2nd place winners of the 3rd Street Gallery show, July’s a Poppin’. Thanks to the artistic eye of Joe Cawlfield, a well-known Pueblo artist and art judge, Pattie Wall won $150 for 1st place with Wary and Wise and a $100 award for 2nd place went to Susan Marion for Rafters on the Arkansas. In addition, a 3rd place ribbon was awarded to Jill Westbrook for Just Add Water 
while honorable mention ribbons were given to Sandra Dalton for Miss Kitty B&W, Julie Hutslar for Fiercely Loyal, Amy Motazedi for Tribute, and Jeanene Parker for Canyon Overlook. Congratulations to the winners of the People’s Choice Ribbon Awards: 1st place Crested Beauty by Lauren Dwyer and 2nd place Awakenings by Jan Kraus.
We are excited to welcome Jim Lauderdale as our featured performer this year. He has won two Grammys, released 36 full-length albums, and has taken home the Americana Music Association’s coveted Wagonmaster Award, along with being a great performer. The line-up also features our festival host, the always entertaining Dry Branch Fire Squad. Other acts scheduled to appear are Ralph Stanley II & the Clinch Mountain Boys, Laurie Lewis and the Right Hands, Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike, Jim Gaudet and the Railroad Boys, The Wilder Flower, Mike Mitchell Band, My Brother’s Keeper, Fog Holler, The Red Mountain Boys, Orchard Creek, Abbie Gardner, and Heidi Clare and Ron Thomason.
