Ann Veronica Gill Durkin

Ann Veronica Gill Durkin, born September 9, 1933, passed away peacefully at home in Denver, Colorado, on December 23, 2024. Ann was 91 years old and lived a full and beautiful life marked by her warmth, grace, and kindness. The daughter of Bernard Mathias Gill and Nora Veronica Cribbs Gill, Ann was born and grew up in Tionesta, Pennsylvania. The Gill family is known for their humor, common sense, humility, and longevity. Ann was lucky enough to have all those traits. From inside and out, she radiated classic, natural beauty.

Ann’s professional career began in Buffalo, NY, where she pursued secretarial education at Bryant & Stratton College, from which she went on to work at an intellectual property law firm, a chemical company, and later, a city planning firm. In Buffalo, she also met and married the man of her dreams, Joseph Durkin. They began their life together in Mishawaka, Indiana, where Joe was finishing his education, and it was there that Ann began the long era of her true calling as a mother and homemaker. 

Ann and Joe moved from Indiana to New York and finally to Texas, where they lived for more than four decades. Along the way, Ann experimented with painting and music, learning to play guitar in her 40s, and with Joe, she enjoyed attending Broadway shows in NYC. A gracious host, Ann knew how to throw a party, and over the years, she honed her bartending skills, establishing a reputation among friends and neighbors for pouring a strong Manhattan. A woman of deep faith and a life-long Catholic, Ann was an active church parishioner, engaged in the Cursillo movement in the 1970s, and served as a CCD teacher. She also brought communion to the elderly and sick, sang with Joe in various church choirs, and toward the end of her Texas years, she full-heartedly participated in ACTS retreats with the women of her parish.

Ann offered love, hugs, and food to all who walked through her doorway and was like a second mother to many of her children’s friends. She also was enamored with her grandchildren and delighted in all that Nana-hood entailed. Ann’s extraordinary commitment to caring for and creating meaningful connections with others gave her great joy and purpose. Even in her transition from Texas to Denver at age 86, a community developed around her as people quickly understood and appreciated her wit and essence. She charmed a devoted team of caregivers to whom we extend our deepest gratitude – Sylvia Fabela, Brittany Elias, Veronica Bradley, Jess Roucoulet, Debra Dufer, Madeleine Sutton, and countless others who supported her care for the past five years. We are also indebted to the friends who regularly and lovingly brought her communion, the very special OT and PT providers, and to the Brighton Hospice team, joining in to support Ann and family for the past six months. 

Ann is survived by her son Anthony (Amanda) Durkin, her daughters Molly (Patrick) Bohan and Maureen Durkin, and her grandchildren Anthony Abshire and Nora Abshire. She is also survived by her brothers, Bernard Gill, Roger Gill, and her sister Margaret “Kaye” Gill, all of whom Ann cherished. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, her parents, and her sister, Mary Gill Nolan. Ann was adored by dozens of nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews, dear friends and neighbors, and grand- and great-grand animals. She leaves a legacy in the hearts of many simply by the way that she loved.

Later this Spring, a funeral mass will be celebrated for Ann at St. John Catholic Parish in Tidioute, Pennsylvania, followed by burial at St. John Cemetery. An open house will be held from 2 pm until 5 pm on Saturday, January 11, 2025, at the family’s home in Denver, with a celebration of Ann’s life from 3 pm until 4 pm. The family also will host a memorial with Ann’s Southeast Texas community at a date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Catholic Charities of Southeast Texas, to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, or to the Alzheimer’s and Cognition Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.