| Good-Bye to Dave Lockman |
Dave Lockman always said he'd "do everything to the best I can posibly do." It was never more evident than in the spring of 2003 when Lockman earned an honorary high school diploma from Brighton High School, 60 years after dropping out of school.
Dave passed away Dec. 20 in Brighton. He was 79. "I hope I have made an impression on people I have been in contact with," he said, "especially on the younger kids." A Memorial Service was held for Dave on Dec. 27 at Brighton United Methodist Church at 11 a.m. Dave will be missed by us all. |
| Farewell to a Dear Friend |
On October 4, 2001, Almost Home, Inc. lost a very good friend and long time Board Member, Mrs. Edith Garland to death. Her energy, her compassion and smile will be deeply missed. A Memorial Fund has been established in her memory to benefit Almost Home, Inc. For more information, please feel free to Contact Us . |
| Remembering a Great Citizen |
| On December 2nd of 2001, our small town lost a women who made a huge impact. Mary "Penny" Pennock was a citizen who lead by example. Her life was spent as a teacher, but she instilled in the Brighton Community a sense of learning that cannot be found in any textbook. Penny was an advocate who worked for may great causes including Meals on Wheels. In fact, she delivered to the needy up until two weeks before her passing. Penny also helped to establish six local area libraries and trained forty volunteers. Her reach never exceeded her grasp and she warmed our hearts with her acts of selflessness and caring. For more information, please feel free to contact us |
| Mary Elixabeth Samuelson |
| Mary Elizabeth Samuelson, 81, longtime Brighton resident, died July 12, 2008. A memorial service is planned for 11 a.m. July 23 at First Presbyterian Church. Mary was born in Grasston, Minn., to Joseph Theodore (Ted) and Ruth Elizabeth Samuelson. After graduating from Augsburg College in Minneapolis, teaching in Minnesota and working on her master’s at the University of Minnesota, she moved to Brighton. From 1953 to 1973, Mary was a math and physical education teacher and counselor at Brighton High School. She received master’s degrees from the University of Northern Colorado in physical education and in educational psychology and guidance. Mary and Penny Pennock, her close friend and companion, purchased the Ladies Toggery, a women’s clothing shop, on Main Street, in 1973. They closed the store in 1987 and retired. She was active in the Brighton Hospice, Meals on Wheels and was a volunteer bookkeeper for the Presbyterian Children’s Center. She was a member of the First Presbyterian Church and helped a Vietnamese family resettle as part of the Great Expectations program. She was preceded in death by her brother, James and her partner Mary “Penny” Pennock. Survivors include her sister-in-law, Marcella Samuelson. Mary was a supporter of many efforts which she and Penny started, including Almost Home, Inc. She will be missed by many.
For more information, please feel free to contact us |
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In the fall of each year, Almost Home, Inc. makes its once annual request for donation.
The Sponsorship Campaign is a fundraising event in which donation request letters are sent to individuals and businesses.
In FY2009, a record setting $65,900 was raised!
If you would like to learn more or hope to be involved with the Sponsorship Campaign, please contact us.
Thanksgiving Food Baskets and Christmas Adopt-a-Family
Each year through the gracious giving of our community sponsors, individuals , organizations and businesses, Almost Home reaches out to make sure an estimated 350 Brighton Families enjoy a complete Thanksgiving Dinner in a box . As in year ’ s past, this year we joined forces with
the people at His Hands Food Ministries/The Worship Center @ Brighton to make this a huge success. We would also like to recognize the following :
27J School District
27J Transportation
Adams County Social Services
Barnes & Noble
BLING
Brighton Fire Department
Brighton Morning Rotary
Brighton Noon Rotary
Brighton Outreach Ministries
CASA
City of Brighton
Country Circle
Elite Martial Arts
Front Range Young Farmers
Girl Scouts Troop 1715
Good Sams RV Club
King Soopers
Kmart
Local Color/Banner
MarketWise Insights
NRCS/CSU Extension
PCS
Peachtree Academy
Premier Title
Platte Valley Medical Center
Staples
Sturgeon Electric Co.
Tabor Funeral Home
Target / 211
Turnberry Elementary Girl Scouts
United Airlines
United Power
Valley Bank
V-Cuts Unlimited
Volunteers who invested their time and hard work to make this event an annual achievement.
We are currently collecting names of Donors and Families in Need for our Adopt-A-Family for Christmas. Thus far United Power, Mile High United Way and United Power have all stepped up and have made the commitment to donate a toys for an estimated 350 Children. Also, Elite Marshal Arts Academy of Brighton is once again spearheading a major toy drive on behalf of Almost Home, Inc. |
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Joseph Manuel Gomez was raised in the farming community of Trinidad, Colorado. His father was a coal miner. Joe’s concern for homeless people developed from his mother’s kindness to strangers. She fed hungry people in exchange for help with chores. Joe attended Junior College in Trinidad and then joined the U.S. Navy where he learned medical technology. He first worked at Rose Memorial Hospital; then, while a lab technician at Valley View Hospital, Joe married Sue who was a lab aide there. Joe and Sue enjoyed assisting in marriage counseling at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Brighton. They had two sons - Joe, Jr. and Daniel. Joe was ordained as a Deacon on June 11, 1994, and was assigned to the parish at St. Augustine. Unfortunately, at age fifty-six, Joe died on June 23, 1994.
Joe and Sue were active in the effort of the St. Augustine parish to provide shelter for homeless people. Maida Feresquez and Father Jude Geilenkirchen helped to organize the service, and from 1986 to 1992 the church basement was used. Joe spent countless hours working on this ministry. Even after the coalition of community volunteers was formed in 1992 to continue the shelter program, Joe and Sue often shared their own home with homeless persons.
In memory of Joe Gomez and the generosity he exemplified, Almost Home, Inc. honors individuals each year for outstanding service to homeless individuals.
Past Joe Gomez Memorial Award Winners include:
1996 – Richard L. Stratford
1997 – Sam Winchester
1998 – Pete W. Rulison
1999 – Stephen F. Cardos
2000 – Jim and Nancy Thomas
2001 – The Beginners
2002 – Lois Lesser
2003 – Gordon and D’Ann Bacon
2004 – Manuel Esquibel
2005 – Jim Hall
2006 – Stacy Davis
2007 – Donald M. Cassata
2008 – Michelle Miller
2009 – Robert (Bob) Feis
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