Date Posted: 2005-09-26
Maiden Name: Rickertsen

Rickie Calkins, 71, of Fort Collins, Colo., formerly of Lexington, died late last week at Fort Collins, Colo. Services were Monday, Sept. 26, 2005, at Plymouth Congregational Church in Fort Collins, Colo.   

Rickie was born Harriet Anne Rickertsen in an Alliance farmhouse in 1934. She graduated in 1951 from Lexington High School.   

Survivors include her husband of 50 years, Bob Calkins; two daughters and sons-in-law, Susan and Jerry Bodar of Dubois,Wyo., and Carol Calkins and Shawn Powell of Cheyenne, Wyo.; two sons and a daughter-in-law, David Calkins and Anne Talbot of Scottsbluff and Bill Calkins of Denver; her stepmother Eva Rickertsen of Lexington; a sister, Mary Ruth Gauger of Raymond, Wash.; and a brother, Harold Rickertsen of St. Paul.   

Other survivors include three grandchildren, Justin Eckland and his spouse, Heidi Eckland of Sterling Colo., Hannah Calkins of Scottsbluff, and Brooke Bodar of Dubois; and a great-grandchild, Ezra Eckland.During her life, Rickie lived in Lexington, Kimball, Omaha, Scottsbluff and Fort Collins, Colo.   

A gifted musician and accomplished pianist who sang soprano and inspired many congregations with her mastery of the organ, she was also employed as a nursing instructor at Nebraska Western College, a medication nurse in a Fort Collins, Colo., nursing home, and as an advocate for disabled children through Head Start in Scottsbluff.   

Accomplishments include the founding of a Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization called Friends Incorporated in Scottsbluff; advocating for all people on the Human Rights Commission of Fort Collins, and helping to found the Northern Colorado Parents and Friends of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgender Persons (PFLAG) group.   

She was a prolific writer, having published a health care manual for children through the Nebraska Department of Health (Healthy Happy Me), and a very popular brochure for PFLAG, titled, "Could Your Precious Child Be Gay?" as well as many articles for magazines and newspapers through the years.   

She was a member of Plymouth Congregational Church (United Church of Christ) in Fort Collins and also a member of Chapter AL, P.E.O. for many years. 

Memorial contributions are asked for the Plymouth Congregational New Organ Fund or any cause of the giver's choice.Obituary obtained from the Lexington Clipper-Herald