Carletta E. McLain

Carletta E. McLain passed away December 19, 2012 at the Hospice of Northern Colorado Inpatient Unit in Greeley, Colorado. Carletta was born in Aspen, Colorado September 2, 1926 to Carl and Eunice (Beck) Johnson. Her four grandparents settled in Aspen in the late 1890s. As a child she lived in several Colorado mining towns as her father sought employment wherever it was available.

A 1944 graduate of Pitkin County High School,

she married J. Warren (Buck) Parsons in 1950 and their three children were born in Aspen where they lived until 1964. Her husband died in 1990. She married Earl McLain in 1995 and lived in Eaton, Colorado.

Carletta had a distinguished 43-year career in nursing. She enrolled in the Cadet Nursing Program at Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing in Denver and received her R.N. in 1947. She returned to Aspen where she worked at the Aspen Hospital for two years.

Following the birth of her three children she was employed in office nursing and school nursing for twelve years in Aspen and Longmont.

In 1975 she began employment in Occupational Health Nursing for U.S. West in Greeley and Denver. Carletta returned to school commuting from Greeley to the University of Colorado School of Nursing in Denver. She received certification as a Nurse Practitioner in Adult and Geriatric Nursing in 1980 and continued her employment with U.S. West for another ten years.

When she retired in 1990 she continued her interest in health care as a volunteer for the American Cancer Society Reach to Recovery Program and as state coordinator for eight years. She continued to volunteer with local health fairs. Through all the years family members would rely on her knowledge of things medical.

Earl and Carletta enjoyed traveling, golfing and dancing. Together they had a wide circle of friends and family. She was always the family organizer putting together summer picnics for her extended family, and she joined Earl at many McLain family gatherings.

Carletta was preceded in death by her daughter Nancy A. Thompson and her two brothers, Harold W. Johnson and Dale F. Johnson. She is survived by her husband Earl; her sister Irene A. Conner of Aspen; her sons Warren J. Parsons and David C. Parsons; and three grandsons, Quinn Parsons, Stuart Thompson, and Nick Parsons.

A memorial service to celebrate Carletta’s life will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, December 28 at the Alger Memorial United Methodist Church in Eaton. A graveside service will be held in Aspen at Red Butte Cemetery in early summer.