Dolores "Dee" Joan (Fabianski) Blecha

Dolores “Dee” Blecha was born October 26, 1951 in Roslyn, New York to John and Dolores Fabianski.  She grew up in Westbury, New York, graduating from W.T. Clarke High School in 1969.  Soon after, she moved to Colorado to attend the University of Northern Colorado to pursue her dream of being a teacher.  While student teaching in Greeley she met and fell in love with David Stuart “Stu” Blecha.  Their connection was instant and soon after they hurried back to New York and were married on December 29, 1973.  They settled in Greeley where they were teaching and starting a family.  Son Chris was born in 1975 followed by Joe in 1977.

Stu, Dee, Chris and Joe moved to Wray, Colorado in 1980 and Dee became the Special Education teacher at Buchanan Middle School in 1981.  Her passion for teaching and fostering kids through their formative teenage years was truly a gift.  Education was always important to Dee and she never stopped learning.  She went back to school to obtain her Master’s Degree in Special Education, while still teaching and being a loving and supportive mother and wife.

Son’s, Kipp and Corey were born in 1986 and 1988 and soon she was in a house full of boys!  She was a constant supporter of all things related to her boys.  Many trips were taken during these years over Christmas and spring breaks from school.  She was always willing to load up the minivan and take her boys and their friends snowboarding, to basketball camps or just about any other place they wanted to go.  Summer break was always Dee’s favorite time to spend on the lake with her family waterskiing, wakeboarding, and doing whatever other hijinks four boys could think up.

In 1995 Stu and Dee brought a fifth boy into the family when Aaron Waitman came to live with them.  He instantly became one of her “boys” and she was a constant supporter, going to football games, basketball games and wrestling matches.

Dee’s grandchildren held a truly special place in her heart.  She was a constant supporter of their activities, going to sporting events, plays or simply spending a day at the lake or farm.  During the past year, Dee cherished each Friday that she and Stu spent with their newest granddaughter.

Dee’s “happy place” from an early age was always Friends Lake, New York.  Beginning in the 1960’s her parents, siblings and extended family would spend the summer in the Adirondacks, where they happened across an aptly named Friends Lake.  Each summer brought the family back here to enjoy the refreshing Adirondack water and tree lined shores with her sisters and brother, cousins and many friends.  In 1974 Dee’s parents began building “The Lake House” which would be the backdrop of many of Dee’s most cherished moments with family and friends for the remainder of her life.  She looked forward to her annual trip to New York each July with Stu, the boys and all her family. These truly were special times for Dee, spending time as one big family “down at the lake” grilling burgers, swimming from the docks, relaxing on the beach and watching the kids simply enjoying a summer day.

Education was Dee’s calling and the number of students she impacted over the years cannot be counted.  She spent 33 years teaching special education at Buchanan Middle School before retiring in 2014.  “Retirement” for Dee meant working part time with the Colorado Education Association where her impact on education was made across the State of Colorado.  She cherished the new friends and colleagues she made during this time.  Dee and Stu also obtained their license to open Mummy Hill Winery.  She thoroughly enjoyed the artistry of wine making.  Many weekend afternoons were spent bottling and labeling wine with her family.

Dee loved to travel and was eager to see the world.  She particularly enjoyed researching family lineage and visiting the locations of her family heritage in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Scotland and England.  Dee had an adventurous soul and was always ready to take another trip with Stu, her boys, grandchildren and siblings whether it be Japan, Europe, Hawaii, Mexico or anywhere her friends and family would meet throughout the USA.

Dee knew her greatest impact would be made in the Wray community.  In 2016 she became the Co-Executive Director of the Wray School District.  She relished this new role and was the biggest advocate for the district, its students and the community.  She was always looking at the betterment of students and their educational opportunities within the community.  With that in mind, she, along with the rest of the school district spent many tireless hours in the community the last two years pursuing the dream of building a new middle school and updating the elementary and high school to bring them onto one campus.  Her hard work was rewarded when the district received a BEST grant to help fund this new project.  She was so proud that the students and community would have some of the best educational opportunities for years to come.

Dee passed away on October 1, 2019.  She is preceded in death by her parents, John and Dolores Fabianski, her mother in law, Dorothy Blecha and her niece Beth Crevoiserat.  She is survived by her husband and best friend of 45 years, Stu Blecha.  Son’s, Chris (Tracy), Yuma, Colorado, Joe (Ericka), Portland, Oregon, Kipp (Amy), Denver, Colorado, Corey, Denver, Colorado and Aaron (Amy), Wray, Colorado.  Her grandchildren, Grace, Jack, Waverly, James, Jayden, Gage, Cole, Keeli, Samuel, Ethan and Josie.  Sister’s Betty (Abbie) Crevoiserat, Chestertown, NY, Kathleen (Tom) Kinsley, Poughquag, NY, brother John (Jane) Fabianski, Atlanta, Georgia.  Father in law, Harry Blecha, Wray, Colorado, brother in law Gary (Gayle) Blecha, Wray, Colorado, Sisters in law Beverly (Parker) Newbanks, Hugo, Colorado and Kelly Blecha, Sterling, Colorado.  Many nieces and nephews and their families, and more friends, family and colleagues than could ever be counted.

A Memorial service will be held Friday, October 11, 2019, 10:00 a.m. at the Wray High School in Wray, Colorado. A Private Family Inurnment will be held at a later date. Memorials may be made to the Dee Blecha Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Wray State Bank, 300 Clay Street, P.O. Box 277, Wray, Colorado 80758. Schmidt-Jones Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.