Violet Mae Cortese

Vi was born in Calumet, Minnesota, on July 19, 1929. She was born into a large Yugoslavian family, being the youngest of 13 children, including a sister who was the mother of the baseball player Roger Maris. She always loved clothes and dressing in the latest styles but money was tight. She was very creative, so she would find styles in fashion magazines and sew her own replicas, including making her own hats. She graduated from Greenway High School in Coleraine, Minnesota, in 1947. She was working at a diner in Calumet and needed a ride home after work one night. A friend of one of her older brothers gave her a ride, and the rest is history. She and Dominick Cortese were married on August 21, 1948. While living in Calumet, Rick was born in 1952 and Cathy in 1955. They moved to Fargo, North Dakota, where Jim was born in 1958. In 1961, they moved to Boulder, Colorado, where they lived until moving to Thornton in 2001. She was a full-time homemaker until 1966, when she went to work at the Boulder Medical Center in the medical records department. She later worked at Rocky Flats as an x-ray technician until she retired. She loved to dance. In their younger years, she and Dom would walk into the local dance hall in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Immediately, the band would stop playing mid-song and break into Dom and Vi's favorite song. The floor would clear while everyone watched the two of them dance. While living in Fargo, she and three other ladies entered a Charleston dance contest on the local TV station. They all made their won costumes, practiced hard, and won! First place prize was a frying pan, which she was still using. Later in the 1970's, she enjoyed taking belly dancing lesions, even creating her own outfits. She found a lot of outlets for her creativity over the years. She loved to decorate her house and she would keep up with the latest trends. She would get ideas from reading magazines like House Beautiful and then recreate them. At one point, she got into the cake decorating and became so accomplished she even made a wedding cake. One of her greatest talents turned out to be doll making and she left us all with special dolls to cherish. (There will be some of her dolls on display at the service). She will be missed by her husband Dom, Rick and Ruth, Cathy, Jim and Lisa, grandchildren Michelle, Kevin and Riley and other family members and many friends. A Memorial Service will be held Thursday, 11:00AM, at Horan & McConaty Family Chapel, 9998 Grant Street, Thornton. Please share your memories of Violet and condolences to her family by selecting one of the ""Sign Guestbook"" tabs.