Obituary of Janet Ruth Moone

Janet Ruth Moone passed away February 28th in the Skilled Nursing Center at Frasier Meadows after a long bout with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. She was eighty-seven. Janet was born March 21st, 1927 in Lexington, Kentucky to Ruth Sewell and James Russell Moone. In 1932, the family moved to Denver, and James, whom Janet described as her "mule-riding, civil-engineer father" introduced her to what would become some of her life's great passions: horses, riding, and the mountainous outdoors. Riding led to an excellent private high school in Colorado Springs where she received an enlightening education. Her school's connections helped her secure employment teaching horsemanship at Perry-Mansfield Camp (Steamboat Springs, CO) and Stephens College (Columbia, MO). The latter required a bachelor's degree, in-hand or in-progress, so Janet enrolled at the University of Missouri. There, she became fascinated with Anthropology, eventually earning her Master's from Colorado University and a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona following field research in the Southwest and Mexico. Her doctorate allowed her to obtain a position at the University of Colorado-Denver where she taught from 1969 until 1993; further, she continued her research, expanding to include Spain and Germany. While Janet neither married nor had children, she was fortunate to share her life with many wonderful people who provided her with endless influence. Marie Potter, the headmistress of her high school, instilled a lifelong thirst for knowledge of the world; the co-leaders of Perry-Mansfield, Charlotte Perry and Portia Mansfield, gave Janet her first (and lasting) appreciation for the performing and fine arts; a Stephens College colleague in the riding department encouraged her to seek a higher degree, i.e., get out of the horse business; the exceptional professors she encountered during her graduate studies in Anthropology, especially Robert Lister, Bertrand Kraus and, above all, Edward Spicer, inspired her to make her field her passion. After her teaching career, Janet's journey continued through her interests in horse shows, Native-American arts, travel, reading histories and ethnographies, and developing her own critique of contemporary American social, economic and political cultures. She also enjoyed fishing, hiking, spending time at her cabin in Kremmling and embracing the beautiful Arizona winters. Janet was preceded in death by her mother and father; she is survived by her longtime friend, Suzanne Helburn, who worked at CU-Denver in the Department of Economics. A private memorial service will be held. Contributions may be made in Janet's name to the American Indian College Fund (www.collegefund.org).