Grammy had a lot of thoughts. They made a person learn about the history of this county or provide insight into her life. If you've been missing Grammy's Thoughts in the Crusader, it's because of an illness that ultimately led to her death on Nov. 19, 2021.
Born Aug. 7, 1935, in Cañon City, Carol McNew lived her entire life in the area, graduating from Cañon City High School in 1953.
“She dedicated a lot of her time to volunteer history groups and was a big contributor on getting the Greenwood Cemetery Veterans Day memorials going,” said her husband Keith McNew. “We met in high school. I graduated in 1952 and we married in 1955. We had four children; two boys, two girls and they're still all in the area.”
After they married, the couple ran the Cotopaxi Garage and Fremont Implement business in Cotopaxi until our kids were out of school. “We were some of the originators and startup of West Fremont County Volunteer Ambulance, which was known as Ramrod then,” Keith added. “We took our EMT courses and we were two of the original nine. Carol was a certified EMT instructor. For several years, she put on EMT classes.”
Then when Keith was elected commissioner in 1996, Carol kept volunteering with the school, history or cemetery boards. In 2005, the couple purchased a house in Cañon City, where she dedicated her time to Fremont County Historical Society, Florence Historical Archives, Greenwood Cemetery and the Golden Age Center.
“She was just an enthusiastic volunteer,” Keith added. Then she was diagnosed with non-Hodgins Lymphoma and macular disease, which she battled for six to seven years. Then the chemotherapy contributed to her lack of immunity to Covid and she died on Friday, Nov. 19 of respiratory failure with Covid. “She had eight to 10 years added onto her life and lived fully,” said Keith. “She wasn't going to let her (illnesses get her down).”