Valoy Kolenich

Memorial services for Valoy L. Kolenich will be held at 10:00 am on Thursday in the chapel at Pioneer Manor Nursing Home in Gillette with Pastor Dan Morgan of High Plains Community Church officiating. Burial will follow at 1:00 p.m. at Mt Pisgah Cemetery. Visitation will be from 3:00 5:00 pm on Wednesday at Walker Funeral Home. Valoy, 86, a resident of Pioneer Manor for the past 3 years, passed away on Friday, May 15, 2009. She was born Millicent Valoy Lomas on January. 26, 1923, in Brownsville, Pa., to parents Thomas and Emma Lomas. After spending her early childhood years in Pennsylvania, her family moved to Newark, Oh., where she attended business school and worked as a secretary. Soon thereafter, she met Whitcomb H. Fairfield, and they married on October. 20, 1946. They had two sons, Ned, who was born in 1948, and Scott, who was born in 1955. She and her family then relocated to Cleveland where Valoy continued to raise her children as a full-time homemaker. In 1970 she re-entered the workforce as an Ocean Cargo Shipping Coordinator for two major steamship lines. After retirement she lived in both Florida and northern Alabama before eventually settling in Gillette to be closer to family. Valoys various interests and hobbies included hiking, camping, fishing, golf, ballroom dancing, sewing, knitting, cooking and travel. She had a passion for music, and actively participated in church choirs, often as a featured soprano soloist. She was also a strong advocate for integrated fair housing during the 1950s. She is survived by her two devoted sons, Ned (& spouse, Marilyn) Fairfield of Highlands Ranch, Co., and Scott (& spouse, Jane) Fairfield of Gillette. There are also four surviving grandchildren (Jennifer Parson, Ryan Fairfield, Adam Fairfield and Janelle Fairfield), and four surviving great-grandchildren (MaKenzie Green, Blayne Parson, Noah Fairfield and Emilee Lenox). Valoy was preceded in death by her parents, husband and two brothers. Memorials and condolences may be sent in care of Walker Funeral Home, 410 Medical Arts Court, Gillette, WY 82716. Condolences can be sent via the website at www.walkerfuneralgillette.com