May you live as long as you want and never want as long as you live.

My grandmother, Isabelle Mae Verretta, passed away peacefully in Arvada, Colorado on August 9, 2015.  She lived a long and good life.  Much better than her meager beginnings would have implied.  I could give you the facts about her life. Such as, she was born the only child to Cecil and Minnie Glaviano on July 3, 1925 in Trinidad, Colorado.  She was raised in North Denver and eventually made her home of 56 years in Arvada.  She worked nearly all her life, primarily in the financial industry, and was the first woman in Colorado to sell municipal bonds.  She worked her way from a lowly bookkeeper in 1952 to become Vice President of a half dozen financial institutions beginning in the 1970’s.  She retired at the ripe old age of 88.

I could tell you all this and more. But then I wouldn’t be telling you much about the woman who touched countless lives, making them laugh, cry (often from too much laughing) and who lived her life with a gusto and tenaciousness that few encounter these days.  To get to the true tale of Isabelle Verretta, you have to know how she saw herself and thus overcame the biggest obstacle of all – self-perception.  She would always tell people that she was born a poor fat child who couldn’t say boo to a ghost.  How then did this waif become a powerhouse in the banking world?  Determination and grit.  Widowed with two young children at the age of 29, Isabelle had no time for pity or victimhood.  She had work to do.  And she did it.

She excelled at breaking down barriers in an era and industry that was famous for the good old boys network.  From staying long nights at the bank during their computerization period, to accompanying the men for after work drinks to prove that a woman could find a place in the boy’s club, she poured her heart, sweat and tears in to providing for herself and her young family.  She was forced to sacrifice time spent with her children to make sure they had food to eat and eventually move to the suburb of Arvada.  She would buy one dress every paycheck to have something nice for work because she knew the value of appearances and that all too often, it wasn’t about how smart you were as a woman, but how well you looked and comported yourself that mattered.

Her struggles eventually paid off and she moved up in the bank to lead the savings department as Vice President.  At this point, her personal life also improved by meeting the companion of her heart, Don Arnold.  He taught her not only to appreciate golf and football but also how to not take life so seriously.  Don and Isabelle would go on to spend over 30 years together, dancing, bickering, laughing and generally having a grand ol’ time (often getting into some trouble or another).

She was a woman of grace (though not physically, she was actually quite clumsy in that regard) and style.  To make up for her depression era childhood, she insisted on buying one of every color of shoes or blouses or whatever it was.  QVC will miss her patronage greatly.  When she wasn’t “telling you something” about life, she was enjoying movies and going “up the hill” to gamble until the wee hours of the night or ranting about politics, but the key was she was always learning, laughing and leaving the world a better place.

While she was doing that, there was often food involved.  As part of a large Italian family, two things were priorities in her life – family and food.  (Not always in that order.)  Isabelle may have had a rough beginning but she certainly made up for it in the last half of her life.

She will be missed but never forgotten.