Mildred Belle Concelman

Mildred (Nick) Belle Concelman passed away peacefully on November 21, 2012. Mildred was born and raised in Rochester, Pennsylvania on December 19, 1930. She married Claude W. (Bill) Concelman on November 26, 1948. They were married 62 years when Claude preceded her in death. Also preceding her in death were 2 brothers; 5 brothers-in-law; and 3 sisters-in-law. Mildred is survived by 3 children, all of the Denver area: Linda (Stanley) Strzebala, William (Setsuko) Concelman and Candy (Vern) Mets. She is also survived by a brother, Paul (Sharon) Mengel of Bever; and sisters-in-law, Maggie Concelman of Freedom and Eleanor Hicks of New Brighton, all of Pennsylvania. Mildred has 8 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. Mildred lived in the Bever County area of Pennsylvania for 32 years. While there, she worked at Charlie's Men's Store, Jiffy Steak, and the Isaly's Store. In the early days, she loved to ride motorcycles with her husband and their friends. Some of those friends are still with us today. Mildred never forgot her family and friends in Pennsylvania. She spent most of her Christmas' traveling across the country to be with them. The holidays were her favorite time of year. She loved to cook the holiday meals for her family. In the earlier days, she talked of maybe someday having a small family restaurant of her own. That never happened, but she never passed up a chance to cook for others or have a pie party. In 1962, Mildred and her family picked up and moved to Colorado. At that time, she made many life-long friends. She worked hard to make her dreams come true. She worked for Russell Stover's Candy until she had her third child. She helped her husband build a camper so they could travel the United States. They did camp in the camper, but never went cross country with it. In 1970, Mildred's biggest wish came true. They bought two acres of land in Erie, Colorado. She wanted to live on a farm. It was such a long road to get to that point in their lives. They called it ""Hard Two Acres."" She stayed there until she was forced into a nursing home. Mildred never drove a car, but she loved to drive the tractors. She could be seen driving a tractor with a wagon behind, taking her daughter to the school bus because she broke her leg. She would help her oldest daughter get out of an impossible situation, when she was learning to drive. She would say ""why drive when others can drive me around?"" Mildred's greatest pastime was traveling. She made a trip to Alaska to see her son and daughter-in-law. That was one of the greatest pleasures of her lifetime. Her favorite place was Glendo, Wyoming. She loved to pack the camper and go for days at a time. Her camper was known as the grocery store - there wasn't anything she didn't have. If someone forgot or needed something, she had it. She enjoyed sitting at the lake and visiting with her long time friends in Wyoming. Mildred also enjoyed sharing the sport with her grandchildren. She would go to their concerts, football, basketball, and soccer games, and last but not least to the race track. She was most proud that she could share the racing scene with all her children, for her husband, son and grandson all raced cars. It pleased her that they all carried the same number ""40"". Mildred also loved her dogs. It all started with a boxer named ""Muzzie"" and ended with a poodle named ""Suzzie"". She raised dogs for a short time. One thing was for sure, she was never without a dog at her side. In 2010, Mildred was forced to give up her home and move to a nursing home. It didn't take long for her to call it ""HOME"". She shared a lot of her journeys and great stories of the past with her friends. She liked to pass the time away by building puzzles and tending to her plants. People would go to her room just to look at her plants; those people would call her ""The Plant Lady."" Then she had those who would come to sit and help her build her puzzles; these people would call her ""The Puzzle Lady."" No matter what she was called she liked having their company and they, hers. Mildred will be greatly missed by so many. Her new found friends in the nursing home, her friends that share so many years in Pennsylvania and Wyoming. Yet, most of all, her family who cared so much. Services will be announced at a future date. Additional information will be posted as it becomes available. Please share your memories of Mildred and condolences with her family by signing the guestbook below.