Abby Modesitt

Abby Modesitt passed away April 19, 2011, at her home in Greenwood Village, Colorado surrounded by her family and her faithful golden retriever, Phoebe. She was born on June 17, 1943, in New York City. She attended Bronxville High School and graduated with a degree in mathematics from Skidmore College in 1965. On June 19, 1965, she married Larry Modesitt. She is survived by Larry and her children Kent, Brad, and Lyndy. Kent and Camilla Modesitt are the parents of Sam and Amelia Modesitt. Brad and Lindsey are the parents of Ella and Chase Modesitt. She also is survived by two half sisters, Thea Deem, of Windom, Maine, and Ceci Carpenter of Newmarket, New Hampshire. Abby was preceded in death by her other half sister, Melissa Mitchell, of Newmarket, New Hampshire, who discovered Abby's existence seven years ago. Abby and Melissa corresponded until Abby happily was able to meet this part of the family in 2009. Abby, in many ways, described herself as an eclecticïéé½embracing a life full of wide-ranging passions. From teacher, to golfer, to skier, to bridge player, to chief financial officer, to mountain climber, to photographer, to volunteer, to astute investor, to Spanish student, to world traveler, to mother, to daughter, to wife, Abby led a varied, fulfilling (and what, to many, would be an exhausting) life. She taught junior high and high school math in Massachusetts, Michigan, and Colorado where she was instrumental in helping to shape the lives of countless children and young adults. She made it safe in her classroom: there was no such thing as a ""dumb"" question. Perhaps there are no greater beneficiaries of this dedication, of this passion, than Abby's kidsïéé½Kent, Brad, and Lyndy. From early on, Abby instilled in them, as she did with all of her other ""kids,"" the compassion, love of learning, and adventurous spirit that define, to the extent that's possible, Abby and her life. Even when she moved on from teaching and while her kids carried her spirit into their adult lives, Abby's dedication to education and to nurturing the young continued to weave its way through her life. After moving to Denver, Colorado with her family, Abby eventually became the third employee of Urban Peak, working out of cramped offices in Capitol Hill. Urban Peak was dedicated to improving the lives of homeless youth, and no one exemplified this goal or worked toward its fulfillment more than Abby. While handling Urban Peak's affairs as Chief Financial Officer, she again touched the lives of countless youth who needed a helping hand; a kind, non-judgmental ear; tutoring in math, or a push in the right direction. When she retired, Urban Peak had more than 100 employees with drop-in centers, nighttime shelters, an office in Colorado Springs, apartment housing, as well as medical services, drug and physical abuse counseling, and GED educational services (as the #1 non-educational source of GED degrees in Colorado). Through the hard work of Abby, Roxane White (whom she helped hire), and many others dedicated to its goals, Urban Peak has moved beyond its cramped early years to the statewide organization it now is, serving hundreds of youth at any one time. But Abby could never be confined in her professional endeavors. She was an active volunteer in the community, serving as the Junior League of Denver's (JLD) Vice President of Finance. She was JLD's Sustainer of the Year in 1991. She had previously served in financial roles for the Junior League's of Birmingham, Michigan, and Canton, Ohio. Abby, from an early age, was an avid golfer winning numerous tournaments. She climbed 27 of Colorado's 54 fourteen-thousand foot peaks. She took great joy in her monthly bridge games, Eskimos ski group at Winter Park, book clubs (reading optional), and Phat Club of Ohio. She was an accomplished skier, but fast only when a race was on the line. She was a world traveler: Attu Island, Alaska, to seek rare birds; Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, to view and photograph polar bears; Ecuador; Peru, where she loved Machu Picchu and a festival in Cuzco; Chile; the Galapagos Islands, to photograph wildlife unafraid of humans; Spain, to visit her great-grandfather's town, with the house unchanged from the outside from its appearance 100 years ago; England to visit friends; Europe to finally see countries she missed when she married Larry instead; Tanzania, to photograph wildlife in the Serengeti; Australia where she saw 25 species of parrots but none as cantankerous as her own Socrates; to name some of the many places she visited. She loved crafts, becoming an expert at one before moving on to another. Among them are knit sweaters, needlepoint pillows, bread-dough Christmas ornaments, silk-screened Christmas cards and invitations, decoupage containers (even a golf purse for her mother), and painting (including an oil painting of her cat she painted when she was 16). One of the lasting physical testaments to Abby's spirit and vision may be found in her photography, her last artistic passion. Abby was an accomplished wildlife and cultural photographer creating enduring, piercing, and beautiful images from around the globe. Those fortunate enough to see them will not soon forget Abby's arresting photographs of the Maasai tribe in Tanzania and the Samburu tribe in Kenya (her favorites were of the children); blue-footed boobies in the Galapagos; Machu Picchu and the people of Peru; the rare and reclusive Harpy Eagle in the Amazon (requiring Abby to scale a 100 foot rope ladder, confronting head on her fear of heights); polar bears (documenting both wild bears in Canada and the astonishing survival of the Denver Zoo's Klondike and Snow); puffins in Maine and Alaska; the lions, zebras, elephants, and giraffes of Africa (her favorite was of a secluded leopard looking up before leaping into a tree); an anaconda in Peru; owls (her favorite was a great gray owl flying at her that landed four feet from her head); grizzly bears in Alaska (including a float plane trip where she met Timothy Treadwell years before he was eaten by a bear); a Wilson's Snipe (gracing the cover of Colorado Birds); and, of course, Phoebe. Abby and Larry were privileged to have a fabulous forty-five year marriage, in which the interests of one became the interests of another. ""Who is dragging you there, and for what reason?"" somebody could ask. It didn't matter. Abby will live on with us through these images and, by example, through the spirit, dedication, and compassion with which she lived her life. Abby, we love you. Services were held Saturday, April 23, 10:00 a.m. at Horan & McConaty at 1091 South Colorado Boulevard in Denver, Colorado. She was laid to rest later that day with a private committal in Empire, Colorado. The family requests that memorials be made to any one of the following charities: Family Star (www.familystar.net), Denver Botanic Gardens for free days for low income children (www.botanicgardens.org), Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (www.rmbo.org) or to Urban Peak for educational services (www.urbanpeak.org).