January 23, 1935 – August 25, 2025
Rose Loretta Brinks, 90, was born January 23, l935, the youngest of 5 children, in a farmhouse near Stratton, Nebraska, to Frank Stehno and Mary (Sis) Stehno, and died August 25, 2025, from ovarian cancer. Her early life was Church, 4-H, books, horses, basketball, and softball. She attended the Stratton Public School for 12 years, graduating in 1952. She graduated from Creighton University in 1956 and taught high school and junior high in Omaha, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, as well as at Ottawa University in Kansas.
She earned a Master’s Degree in zoology (immunology) from the University of Kansas in l965 and in Public Health (radiation biology) from Colorado State University in l969. She also attended Lamar State College of Technology in Beaumont, Texas, Arizona State University, and the University of Wyoming, often with various National Science Foundation scholarships.
She was preceded in death by her parents, brothers Edmund and Raymond Stehno, sisters Regina Weskamp and Marie Stavas, nephew Frank Stehno, her first husband Alan Dean, who died in the family’s small airplane in 1965, and second husband Dr. James S. Brinks (1934-2015), whom she married in 1969.
Survivors include her seven children: Dr. Alan Dean (Kathleen) of Ft. Collins, Rex Dean of Los Angeles, Mary Dean of Fort Collins, Dr. Andrew Dean (Marta) of Laporte, Dr. Laura Pritchett of Bellvue, and twins John and Jim Brinks of LaPorte; 5 stepchildren: Denise Dean of Parks, AZ, Laurie Zurn (Frank) of Los Angeles, David Buckler of Fort Worth, Kevin Brinks (Kati) of Centennial, and Karen Wetzbarger of Severance; 14 grandchildren: Sam, Sophia, Will, Max, Dan, Andrea, Kelly, Anna, Ruby, Jonathan, Brendan, Thomas, Jake and Eliana; 8 step-grandchildren: Josh, RJ, Tyler, Leah, Stephanie, Matthew, Chloe, and Zach; 1 great grandson, and 8 step-great-grandchildren.
Rose was known as a protector of the historic land that she and her husband owned in Laporte, Colorado, keeping it from being split by power lines and bike trails. The farm was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. A long-fought fight against the City of Greeley’s claim of eminent domain for a 60-inch water pipe resulted in defeat. She was often on picket lines for civil rights and against the Vietnam War, the burning of toxic waste at the cement plant, the forced use of face masks, and, for 50 years, against abortion.
Rose was a lifelong Catholic; it was the foundation of her life. She was a member of the Fort Collins Historical Society, the Pioneers, and the Westerners. She wrote a book about the Bingham Hill Cemetery on the family farm, and gave innumerable talks and tours through the cemetery to schoolchildren and other groups. In 1994, a reunion was held for the Indian/French Canadian descendants of the 160-acre farm’s first owners, Provost and Claymore. She was “adopted” by the Oglala tribe and given the name “Holy Winged Horse Woman.”
In the 1950s and 1960s, Rose loved to fly, accumulating some 500 hours in her Piper Cub and other small planes. She had “284 successful takeoffs and 283 successful landings.” At age 24, serving as co-pilot in a Piper Apache being delivered to Vaasa, Finland from Lock Haven, PA, she took spectacular 16-mm film footage of icebergs, and amused herself by chatting on the radio with sailors on navy ships below. Other travels included Germany, Andorra, Czechoslovakia, Israel, Egypt, Greece, Bali, Costa Rica, Italy, Spain, England, Wales, Scotland, Hawaii, Alaska, Croatia, Turkey, and, most recently, Iceland.
She loved to read, raise canaries and peacocks, garden, print B&W photos, and most of all, to ride one of her Arabian horses at Lory State Park. She was often happiest driving a hay truck or with a live calf after a hard pull. Her late-life sadness was her husband’s Alzheimer’s for 10 years during their 70s. She leaves behind 80 shoeboxes of photos and 80 years of diaries. The family would like to thank all the friends and neighbors who made her last years so active and memorable.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by close family friend Fr. Greg Ames on Thursday, August 28, starting at 10 AM, at St Joseph Catholic Church in Fort Collins, followed by interment at Grandview Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, Rose requested donations to St. Walburga Abbey. Please share condolences and memories at goesfuneralcare.com.