ALAMOSA — Gloria Ann Crawford, 80, of Alamosa, passed away in Colorado Springs, CO, on August 30, 2020, surrounded by her 3 daughters.

She was born on March 6, 1940 in Alamosa, CO.  She was one of five children born to the late Richard & Emma Crawford of LaJara, CO.   Gloria is survived by her four children: Mark Gritz of Denver, CO, Cristine Gritz of Colorado Springs, CO, Valerie Gritz-Semones of Montrose, CO and Julie Gritz of Elbert, CO.  She is also survived by her five grandchildren Laura & Steven Gritz, Sydney Blevins, Logan & Chase Semones, and her two dogs Raven and Skylie.

Gloria graduated from Centauri High School in 1958.  She then went on to complete Cosmetology school and attend Adams State College.

She worked for many years in education for the Alamosa School District.  She loved working with the children and had many funny stories and fond memories of the kids she helped.  She raised chickens, calves and purebred Montadale sheep.  She also loved horses and would often talk about her many summers riding her mustang, Buttons.  She once spent an entire summer traveling around Colorado (often sleeping in the dressing room of the horse trailer) with her daughter, Julie and granddaughter, Sydney to assist and cheer them on while they competed for championships in barrel racing.  She had another mustang, Race, that she spent cherished time working and training him. He trained her mostly, but she allowed her grandson, Chase to continue his training to show and win in 4-H.

Gloria inspired many by her strong will and unbreakable determination. She had a huge sense of justice and believed that people should have integrity and do the right thing.  She was very determined, brave and strong with any struggles life handed to her.  She raised four children to be successful in the world today and often worked two jobs while going to school just to provide the best she could for her kids.  She had a wonderful sense of humor and could talk to anyone.  She could ease your mind in a minute with her insightful advice or cut you to the knees if she thought you were rude or disrespectful.  She could and would accomplish anything she put her mind to.  She liked to work outside and enjoyed woodworking and home improvement projects.  She didn’t do anything half-way.  She wanted to be proud of the job she did and taught her children to do the same.

Gloria loved the mountains and would say there is no other place she would rather be.  She was an excellent fisherman and loved camping.  She  would often entice, even her oldest daughter, Cristine to go fishing, if she would handle baiting the hook and handling the fish after they were caught.

Gloria’s final wish was to have her ashes spread in the beautiful Colorado Mountains by her children in one of the many places she loved, along with the ashes of her beloved dog, Jessie.

She was very loved and will be greatly missed.