Gurtha Mary (Zuercher) Olney

Gurtha Mary (Zuercher) Olney, resident of Cottonwood, AZ, was born in Monument, New Mexico on 23 September 1911 to Arthur and Rutha Lea Brookin. She started working by the time she was eight years old, milking cows and delivering milk from the back of a truck for her father\u0027s dairy in Brawley, California. Her first child was born while she was sixteen. Two years later she convinced Leo J. Zuercher, a good Catholic boy, to elope to Mexico to marry a divorcee with a baby daughter. Gurtha and Leo had two more children and raised all three in Arizona and California. She was a cook in restaurants and hospitals, including the Cottonwood Hospital. After she retired, she drove vans for the Cottonwood Senior Center and for CATS. After the death of her husband, Leo, she married an old family friend, George Richard \u0027Dick\u0027 Olney, who later succumbed to cancer resulting from a lifetime of uranium mining. Gurtha enjoyed traveling in the United States and crossed the continent at least four times to visit her children and be with relatives. She was active in her church and in the VFW Auxillary. She is survived by daughters, Christine Killebrew of Merced, California and Rosalie Hess of El Dorado, Kansas; son, Leo A. Zuercher and daughter-in-law, Marlene Zuercher of Cottonwood, Arizona; eleven grandchildren, numerous great-grandchildren and several great-great-grandchildren. Step-sons, Jamie and David Olney of Utah, with their families; and ex-son-in-law, Jim Millsap, also survive her, and whom she always considered a part of her family. Gurtha was 94 years and four months old when she left this world on 23 January 2006. Her courage, insight and helpfulness will be missed. Rosary and a Visitation will be held at Westcott Funeral Home, 1013 E. Mingus Ave. in Cottonwood, on Friday, January 27, 2006. Rosary will begin at 5:00pm and Visitation will follow from 6:00-8:00pm. Funeral Services will follow Saturday, January 28, 2006 at 11:30am, at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 700 N. Bill Grey Rd., also in Cottonwood. An online guestbook is available at www.westcottfuneralhome.com