Rose Mary (Venturo) Coupe died on April 9, 2025, in Fort Collins, Colorado less than two months before her 99th birthday.
She was born June 3, 1926 in Sargents, Colorado, the daughter of Pete and Theresa (Luchetta) Venturo. Her father, Pete, was the section foreman in Sargents for the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad. The Venturo parents lived in the Gunnison area from 1919 to 1952, when the Rio Grande Railroad transferred Pete from Gunnison to Grand Junction. Rose grew up in Gunnison with three brothers: Mike, George and Frank, and one sister, Josephine (Bailey). She graduated from Gunnison High School in the class of 1946.
Upon returning from WWII, her brother Mike formed a friendship with a fellow veteran and his future business partner, Thomas Coupe. Rose and Tom struck up a romance and were married in 1950. Tom and Mike bought the Ideal Laundry and Dry Cleaners where Tom had been a professional dry cleaner. They formed the Idealco Corp., which served the area for 30 years. Rose was a working partner in the business while she and Tom raised four children, Loretta, Tom Jr., Richard, and Mark.
With Idealco next door, the family lived and worked in a small house just across the street from Saint Peter’s Catholic Church in Gunnison. Rose was an active member of the church and participated in many of its activities. In 1964 the Coupes moved to a 28-acre property in West Gunnison and developed a small ranching operation. Idealco sold in 1977, and three years later Rose and Tom, with their son, Mark, moved to full-time ranching in Montrose, Colorado. Final retirement brought Rose and Tom to Windsor, Colorado, to be closer to some of their children and grandchildren. Tom preceded Rose in death in 2010.
Rose was a humble person of faith who dedicated her life to serving others and will be dearly missed by her four children, eight grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren and 14 great, great grandchildren, as well as her one remaining brother, Frank Venturo, a step-aunt, Frances (Luchetta) Albany and many nieces and nephews. A funeral mass was held at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Fort Collins on April 28, 2025. Interment was in Fort Logan National Cemetery.
