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Elizabeth Joan Zeni died Aug. 31 of heart failure at Larchwood Inn in Grand Junction. She was 81.
Mrs. Zeni was born April 30, 1927, to Rose (Schneider) and Roscoe Graham in Mount Sterling, Ind. The family moved to Denver in the early 1930s. She graduated from Denver South High School and attended Denver University. She married Emil Zeni (later divorced) and moved to Tucson, Ariz., in 1952 and to Grand Junction in 1953.
She was a telephone operator at (then) Mountain Bell at night and went to school to earn an AA and AD in nursing in the daytime. Mrs. Zeni received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of Colorado. She was instrumental in the creation of a number of innovative programs at St. Mary’s Hospital. She retired as a coronary nurse from St. Mary’s. She was a master gardener and a strong proponent of volunteerism. She had a passion for root beer floats.
Survivors include a son and daughter-in-law, Joe and Melanie Zeni of Grand Junction; a granddaughter; and two nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; infant sister Barbara Ann Graham; brother Edward Keith Graham; sister Patricia Yvonne Hill; and a niece.
She was a proud child of the Depression and kept those values of commitment, integrity, respect, thrift and hard work with which she was raised, to the end of her life. Cremation has taken place. She requested no services. Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of one’s choice.
Mrs. Zeni was born April 30, 1927, to Rose (Schneider) and Roscoe Graham in Mount Sterling, Ind. The family moved to Denver in the early 1930s. She graduated from Denver South High School and attended Denver University. She married Emil Zeni (later divorced) and moved to Tucson, Ariz., in 1952 and to Grand Junction in 1953.
She was a telephone operator at (then) Mountain Bell at night and went to school to earn an AA and AD in nursing in the daytime. Mrs. Zeni received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of Colorado. She was instrumental in the creation of a number of innovative programs at St. Mary’s Hospital. She retired as a coronary nurse from St. Mary’s. She was a master gardener and a strong proponent of volunteerism. She had a passion for root beer floats.
Survivors include a son and daughter-in-law, Joe and Melanie Zeni of Grand Junction; a granddaughter; and two nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; infant sister Barbara Ann Graham; brother Edward Keith Graham; sister Patricia Yvonne Hill; and a niece.
She was a proud child of the Depression and kept those values of commitment, integrity, respect, thrift and hard work with which she was raised, to the end of her life. Cremation has taken place. She requested no services. Memorial contributions may be made to the charity of one’s choice.
