Natli A. Molloy

Natli Molloy died peacefully on Wednesday, June 13, with family at her side. She is survived by her six children, Natli VanDerWerken, Carolyn Mulligan, John Molloy II, Margaret Molloy, Robert Molloy, Jr., and Thomas Molloy, and her brother George Yerex. She had 10 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren. She was 91. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Robert J. Molloy, in 2014. Rosary will be recited Tuesday, June 26, 2018 at 9:45am followed immediately by Funeral Mass at 10am, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church, 5620 S. Hickory Circle, Littleton. Burial follows at 12 noon, Fort Logan National Cemetery, Staging Area “A”. Natli Molloy was a wife, a mother and a voice for integrity in community and government. Natli was born Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1927 to Lillian C. Rasmussen Yerex from California and Lowell Yerex from New Zealand. Her parents settled in New Mexico to have a family after years of “barnstorming” across the American West, including in Denver, where Lowell flew customers in his biplane at fairs and events. Yerex moved his family to Texas, then Mexico and then Honduras where he built two airlines still operating today. This gave Natli exposure to languages and diverse cultures that she treasured through her life. Natli spent her middle and secondary school years in Los Angeles. After graduating from John Marshall High School, she toured Canada, the Caribbean and Central and South America by plane with her father and brother, George, and attended university at Santa Union de Los Sagrados Coracones in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She then enrolled at St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, where she met Bob, a WWII veteran and student at the University of Notre Dame. After their 1951 wedding in Glendale CA, Bob and Natli drove to Denver in their new Ford and settled into 63 years of marriage. They had six children and made constant and significant contributions to their communities. They lived in Denver, Englewood, Littleton and then Greenwood Village where they moved in 1965 (when Colorado Boulevard at Orchard Road was still a dirt road). Natli was a voice for children as a mother, religious education teacher at All Souls Catholic School and as a 4-H leader in Arapahoe County for decades. She also used her voice to preserve the quality of life envisioned by the founders of Greenwood Village while meeting the challenges of a growing population and a changing metropolitan area. Natli was constantly involved addressing this challenge. In the 1960s and 1970s Natli worked with colleagues who supported Greenwood Village Annexations that more than doubled the size of Greenwood Village and preserved the integrity of Cherry Creek School District #5 and Arapahoe County School District #6. The annexation was challenged to the Colorado Supreme Court, which upheld the challenge, and the annexation had to be repeated - with great difficulty. The annexation was finally successful. In 1967 she formed the Greenwood Village Civic Association coordinating community-wide tree-planting, Christmas caroling and civic involvement. In 1975 she formed the Highline Canal Civic Association to preserve the highline canal environment in Greenwood Village. In 1976 and 1976 she formed the Orchard Road Committee to preserve Orchard Road as a two-lane residential road instead of a four-lane divided highway. In 1977 she campaigned and helped pass the term-limit election legislation for Greenwood Village City Council. In 1977 she was elected to the Greenwood Village City Council where she influenced city hall planning, negotiated for land for parking at the new City Hall, negotiated safe walking paths for students to West Middle School, and created the first formal policies and procedures for each City department to implement City Council legislation. Natli represented Greenwood Village to the Colorado Municipal League, was City Council liaison to the Planning and Zoning Department / Commission, and City Council liaison to the Engineering Department / Board of Adjustment and Appeals. Natli proposed an architectural award for new outstanding commercial buildings in Greenwood Village. She created and chaired the awards committee to focus attention on the contribution of commercial architecture to the unique ambience of Greenwood Village. Natli’s impact on the evolution of Greenwood Village was grounded in her focus on the importance of zoning and development. She led discussions on drainage and flood control systems that allowed development of The Preserve in Greenwood Village and continued preservation of the unique ambiance of Greenwood Village. Natli’s passion to preserve the integrity of the original Greenwood Village master plan, which called for one-acre overall density, is still evident the development of “Rural Greenwood Village”. This included stopping a commercial development at the northeast corner of University Blvd. and Orchard Rd. When the historic 1914 Curtis School, originally located on University Boulevard and Orchard Road, was threatened with the wrecking ball, Natli championed its preservation. She rallied the community and city to support preserving one of the few historic buildings in the area. The city council finally gave in""ébecause Natli just wouldn’t stop asking. The funding appeared in an interesting way. George Wallace, the visionary behind the Denver Tech Center, frustrated with the city because of constant delays in the funding and construction of a sidewalk under I-25, constructed the sidewalk with his funds. That freed GV funds to move Curtis School to its current location and its role as the Curtis Arts and Humanities Center. Natli served as an advisor to the center for more than 20 years. In October 2012 the City of Greenwood Village declared a “Natli Molloy Day” and celebrated her contributions to the city. Natli’s passion for art and beauty was evident in the beautiful quilts and gardens she created. Natli joined the Greenwood Village quilters and contributed the front range quilt block (Rockies at sunset) to the quilt that hangs in GV city hall. She was a member of the Cherry Creek Republican Women’s Quilters. Natli was baptized as a Catholic while attending St. Mary’s College and attended weekly mass through her life. She was a member of the Alter and Rosary Society at our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Denver, All Souls Parish in Englewood, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Littleton. She was also a member of St. Anne’s Quilters at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, which makes quilts for newborns. Natli was a Republican precinct leader in Arapahoe County for decades, a campaign manager for local candidates and active in state and national campaigns. Natli said her greatest joy was her family. It was hearing the voices of her children and grandchildren on the final day of her life that gave her peace. Please share your memories of Natli and your condolences with her family in the Guestbook.