Marilyn “Gracie” Fellows

Marilyn Grace Fellows April 3, 1948 – April 9, 2021

Marilyn “Gracie” Fellows peacefully transitioned on April 9^th, 2021, while watching a crisp Colorado morning sunrise through her bedroom window. She lived a vibrant life filled with the joy of being a mother, grandmother, friend, and mentor; her love of hiking, camping and all things nature; always silly and sarcastic and loving deeply.

Born on April 3, 1948, Marilyn was raised in Walled Lake, Michigan just outside of Detroit. She was daughter to the late Eleanor and Robert Fellows and younger sister to Kathy Roberts, who now resides in Florida along with her two lovely daughters, Suzette and Julie.

Early on in college and at the start of her perpetual journey of self-discovery, she met Roger Kose, whom she married and had her first son Brent Kose, in December 1969. They spent five years living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but in the winter of 1975, Marilyn heeded the call of the West and, along with a close-knit group of friends, she moved to Boulder, Colorado, where she was to plant her roots for the remainder of her life.

While exploring everything that Boulder and the mountains have to offer, she followed various career paths as a means to enrich herself and support the things she loved most. One of her first loves was great American food and that led to her becoming one of the first employees of the World Famous Dark Horse Bar and Grill.

In the fall of 1977, she, along with her seven-year-old son Brent and ex-husband Roger, took a brief life detour and spent three months traveling through India and Nepal by third class rail, thriving off the beauty of the land and the people. This trip was to solidify the foundations she had been building of her love of the outdoors and living closely to the land.

Back in Boulder, next for Marilyn was exploring her power and strength by challenging herself physically while working for Boulder County Open Space, eventually becoming a trail crew leader. She reached the pinnacle of her time with BCOS by becoming manager of the Boulder County Fairgrounds for several years in the 1980’s.

Whilst reveling in the sounds of Joni Mitchell and Steely Dan in the 1970’s and 80’s Boulder, Marilyn met her forever best friend, Larry Wyeno. Marilyn and Larry were married in October 1982, in a beautiful ceremony at the Flagstaff Mountain Amphitheater. They welcomed a son, Ross Wyeno, in January of 1984.

Then, looking for a new challenge, she followed her intuition and decided to pursue her love of children and education. Marilyn started the “Gentle Heart” in-home day care, where her big heart took great pleasure in helping raise the next generations of children (along with quite a few puppies and kitties). Her home was always filled with the joy of new minds exploring their world.

In her later life, Marilyn deepened her love of nature, first joining and then eventually becoming the President of the Colorado Mountain Club, Boulder Chapter, where she celebrated the woods, wildflowers, and the Colorado Trail. One of Marilyn’s perennial favorite places to visit was the Brainard Lake Cabin, where she was lovingly known as the “Cabin Queen.”

Along with her “FABS”(Fool Moon Aspen Bugling Sisterhood), she hiked, camped, skied, and soaked in all the wonders of Colorado. “Gracie’s Escape” Camper was often seen at In-State-Outings and Valley View Hot Springs where she donated her time for others to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors.

Marilyn also loved the theater and took delight in taking her family and friends to the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and volunteered as an usher in retirement.

Marilyn loved being a Grandmother to Tyler, Kyle and Dylan Kose.  She was tickled to take them skiing, watch them play soccer, take them hiking along the creek, and doing puzzles with them. Marilyn cherished her family the most and took great pride in choosing amazing and loving dads for her beloved sons.

Marilyn was a woman who gave her time and love freely and loved to be loved in return. In her final days, surrounded by her family, friends, and in a home bursting with plants and adoring pets, she received just that.

Praise the snowcapped mountains! Praise the sun! Praise opalescent waterfalls, green flowers, and the cool dirt under our feet! Praise family and good friends and, of course, white wine!

Marilyn, you will be missed deeply… but your family and a boisterous cast of close friends will honor your legacy and example of living life without fear. And of course, follow your favorite quote from John Irving, “Its hard work and great art to make life not so serious.”

You scout out the trail ahead, make camp, get the fire going, and we will follow with joy in our hearts and excitement in our eyes when our time has come to join you.

In lieu of flowers or gifts, donations would be preferred in her name to The Colorado Mountain Club (https://cmc.org/), Orient Land Trust (https://www.olt.org/ ) or Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (https://www.pancan.org/) – because F**K cancer.