- Date Of Birth: April 15, 1956
- Date Of Death: January 17, 2018
- State: Colorado
Skye Marian Stevens, 61, passed away on January 17, 2018 at Memorial Hospital North in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Skye was born in Omaha, Nebraska on April 15, 1956, the daughter of Dr. Wayne E. Stevens and Kay M. Sanders (Deveny). Skye graduated from Palmer High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado and earned her Veterinary Technologist degree from Colorado Mountain College, Glenwood Springs, Colorado. While raising her family, she returned to college to obtain her CPA degree from Regis College. She was an accomplished business woman and successfully operated a veterinary clinic with her husband, Dr. Bruce Cottrell and later co-founded Homeward Bound Pet Memorial Center.
Though Skye was born in Omaha, Nebraska, she grew up in Colorado Springs. From a very young age she embraced a love of horses. Her room was filled with statues and pictures of horses. Even her Barbie had a horse and Ken may have ridden as well. Her enthusiasm grew when, as a 6 year old, the family had a home with stables behind for horses and she would ride often. Once, when disaster struck and her palomino horse, “Buttons” was accidentally, though seriously injured, she felt the loss of the poor animal more deeply than the rest of the family. But it likely also cemented her love for horses and all animals for the rest of her life.
As a child she was, as you might expect if you knew her, an excellent student. She had a hunger for education and taught well her younger brother, Steve, the ropes of reading. She followed in her mother’s footsteps, began piano lessons at a very young age, and practiced and studied diligently. She was also involved with the Brownies and later the Girl Scouts.
Although the family’s later return to city life prevented her from keeping her horses in a backyard stable, she was able to own and keep her horse for those years in local stables that were owned and run by Dixie, from whom she took lessons and learned a great deal. When the family once again moved outside the city limits, house and barns were built and she was once again able to own a herd of horses and began her gymkhana career.
Skye was a loving, beautiful, intelligent, and strong woman. She always looked out for her brothers, Kirk and Stevie. She took care of them when they were sick when their parents had to go to work. She was there for their graduations from High School through College, and she always had the best advice when it came to just living life.
As a teen she performed in rodeos with her beloved horse, Molly where they collected numerous ribbons together during their gymkhana and rodeo days. She was also the Aid to the Rodeo Queen at one of those rodeos. Skye’s greatest rodeo accomplishment was competing with Molly in the Little Britches Rodeo in Colorado Springs. She competed in barrel racing, goat roping, pole bending, and calf roping.
After graduating from high school in 1974, Skye went on to college in Glenwood Springs, CO to become a veterinary technician. After college, she returned to Colorado Springs to start her new career and worked for several different veterinarians around the city, including Bruce Cottrell, her future husband.
Skye continued to work with horses and was the president of the Colorado Palomino Association for several years. She was also active in horse breeding and purchased Sandy Bar Tio, a beautiful stud that sired several world class show horses. She did all this while she was still a very busy vet tech.
Skye and Bruce were married in 1983. They continued the veterinary practice until 1995. During that time they had two sons, Dakota and Tucker, who were her pride and joy. It was during this time that she also took up flying and got her private pilot’s license.
Skye continued on to become a successful CPA and, with her husband, Bruce, co-founded Homeward Bound Pet Memorial Center, a business that catered to owners of beloved pets who have passed. In her retirement she found time for several hobbies, including sheep herding using her own self trained dogs, quilting, meditation, yoga, and even took up the piano again. She was in the process of enrolling as a volunteer at local hospitals to use her newly certified therapy dog, Flo. She enjoyed get-togethers with her extended family for holidays and good times.
Eventually, her health was compromised by COPD and ultimately she was on oxygen 24/7, but throughout this long illness, despite many setbacks, she maintained a positive and optimistic outlook and continued to be involved in her businesses and family. As her illness got worse, her lung capacity decreased and she was susceptible to infection. She was hospitalized with pneumonia and was not able to recover.
Skye is survived by her brothers and sister, Wayne E. Stevens II (Steve), Kirk Robert Sanders, and Danielle D. Hosler (Stevens); her children, Dakota (Kody) K. Cottrell, and Tucker D. Cottrell; step-children, Denise M. Cottrell (Boston), Debbie S. Cottrell, Michael B. Cottrell, and David A. Cottrell; grandchildren, Brandi May, and Dustin Boston; her great-grandchildren, Hollyann M. May, Michelle K. May, , Kaitlin A. May and Dustin J. Boston, Jr.; and her nephews and niece, Kip Sanders, Tyler Sanders, and Abby Sanders. Her husband, Merton Bruce Cottrell, preceded her in death in 2016.
