Catherine Maye Vinson

Catherine Maye Vinson, 73, died May 20 at Marquis Care Shaw Mountain in Boise, Idaho, peacefully in her sleep following a prolonged battle with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Cae was born September 13, 1934 in Denver, Colorado. She graduated from Cathedral High School in Denver in 1952. On a Ski trip in Leadville in 1954, Cae met and later married Jules S. Vinson, on leave from Camp Hale at the Silver Dollar. They were married on September 4, 1954 and together for 27 years before J.S. passed away. She and J.S. moved to Buena Vista in April of 1981 to the home of their dreams. She continued her life in Buena Vista until March of 2007. Cae lived in Colorado, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas, New Mexico, Illinois, Massachusetts, Idaho, Germany & Austria. It was in Germany that she taught herself cake decorating so she could make a good friend an ""American Wedding Cake."" She worked at Delidan's Church good store in Denver from 1962 to 1968, and then moved to Broomfield, Colorado in 1969. There she taught the art of cake decorating to students, making as many as eight wedding cakes in a weekend, and worked for Bakeries in NM, IL, and MA before moving to Buena Vista, Colorado in 1981. Shortly after losing her husband, Cae's gifts for helping others moved to the forefront in her life and she opened and managed New Beginnings (now New Bees), a pay what you can thrift store, with all proceeds going back into the community, helping those in need of a little lift from her angel wings to get back on their feet, with rent, medical, utilities, etc. She was an advocate and supporter of the Alterative School (now the Chaffee County High School) and served on several governors boards including Build a Generation. Cae organized the Christmas baskets into one central list form multiple organizations and churches so fewer fell through the cracks and all could receive larger baskets, as well as creating a Christmas store with new and used donated gifts, so none had to go with out a present during the holidays. Cae was honored multiple times in Buena Vista with community awards such as citizen of the year. And in 1993 she was recognized by KUSA in Denver in their 9 Who Care Awards program along with a nomination for the prestigious Jefferson award. She also managed the Dinner Bell Café in Johnson Village for several years. Making an impression everywhere she went, even while isolated with illness, Cae was featured on the April 26th cover of Boise's newspaper The Idaho Statesman as the recipient of Marquis Care's New Chapters program facilitated by Harrison's Hope Hospice. Also in keeping with her charitable spirit Cae's last outing was on May 10 participating in Boise's Race for the Cure benefiting breast cancer research. Cae collected angels and surrounded herself with them. On more than one occasion, she was referred to ""as an angel on earth"" but she felt ""You All were her real Angels."" She wanted to thank you all for the care and help and friendship she received from you over the years, she couldn't have achieved half of what she did without her angels. Thank You. Cae is preceded in death by her husband Jules S. Vinson; her partner Walter Fox; her parents Richard (Dick) Jones and Agnes (Betty) Reardon Jones; and her sister Patricia Jones (Ralph) Chase. Cae is survived by her daughter Kathy (John) Czikalla of Clive, Iowa; her son Richard (Kathy) Vinson of Idaho City, Idaho; grandchildren Katie Moore of Iowa, John Befort of Iowa, Chris Befort of Iowa, Laura Mackey of Iowa, PFC Joseph Czikalla (Military), Allison Czikalla of Iowa, Carrie Czikalla of Iowa, Toni Vinson of Idaho and Heather Vinson of Idaho; seven great grandchildren; nephews Marty Chase of Denver, Larry Chase of Denver; niece Barbra Padilla of Denver; and her Best Friend Miriam Long of Buena Vista. A family graveside service will be held Friday, May 30, 2008 at 11 am at Fort Logan National Cemetery (Area A), 3698 South Sheridan Boulevard, in Denver, Colorado. Memorial services will be held Saturday, May 31, 2008 at 11 am, at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Buena Vista, Colorado. In lieu of flowers, it is the family's intention to establish a Catherine M. Vinson Memorial Scholarship Fund; pledges may be made in advance to be redeemed upon the foundation of this fund. Please share your memories of Cae and condolences with her family by clicking on the ""sign guestbook"" button below.