Wendy Keegan Campbell

Wendy Campbell of Arvada, Colorado passed away at home. She was 74 years young. A service will be held December 2, 12:00 pm at Horan and McConaty in Arvada, 7577 W 80th Ave. She is joining her parents Lyle and Aileen, and her dear brother Kevin. She is survived by her sister and her spouse, her three children Michelle, Sean and Heather, their spouses, nine grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

Wendy’s legacy does not come from what she did in her life but in how she lived. “I wished to live deliberately. . . . I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.” Wendy lived deeply and loved with all her heart.

Unbeknownst to her parents, Wendy attended her first music concert when she was sixteen. This was shortly after she had snuck out to see the Beatles arrive at the airport in Denver and was treasurer of their fan club. Thus began her long love affair with music and concerts, having attended her last concert just one week before her passing where she rocked out to Queen and Adam Lambert.

She loved to laugh as much as she loved music. Wherever she went, belly-aching laughter was sure to follow, hers and those around her. Like the time she traveled to England with her brother and went out to dinner. A roll popped out of her hands, off the table, and down the stairs of the elevated table in the middle of the restaurant for all the patrons to see. Neither she nor Kevin could stop laughing until long after they left that establishment. This is a family trait, as Wendy and her sister would often laugh at the dinner table until their sides hurt and until their father had told them for the umpteenth time “that’s enough now.” 

Wendy was always up for an adventure and always open to new ideas and new ways of being in the world. She had recently started cooking gourmet meals for herself, texting pictures of meals she had made to her family. Before this, the running joke was that the oven could easily go if she needed the space in her kitchen.

For Wendy, life was not always light and laughter. She struggled with her mental health. Yet, in her darkest moments, she never gave up on herself. If something was not working, she tried something different. Having been in these deep depths of despair herself, she became a guide out of them when someone found themselves falling, whether it was her children, their spouses or her grandchildren.

Wendy wrote a mission statement for herself a few years ago: “I want to be the best me I can be. I want to be a living example of health and wellness.” Adding on, “I have to teach my children the right things to do.” And she did. It is now up to all of us to carry on her legacy.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be given to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization.