Darla Kay DeGuevara

Darla Kay DeGuevara, 72, of Littleton, CO passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Sunday June 26th 2022 at Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver. 

A viewing will be held on Monday July 11th, from 4:00-6:00 PM at Drinkwine Family Chapel with Celebration of Life Service on Tuesday July 12th, at 11:30 AM at Drinkwine Chapel. Burial to follow at Ft. Logan National Cemetery at 1:30 PM. Donations may be made to Humane Society of the South Platte Valley, hsspv.org A reception will then be held from 2:00 - 4:00 PM at The Inn at Hudson Gardens - 6115 S. Santa Fe Drive, Littleton, CO 80120.
 

Darla was born on February 13, 1950 in Rapid City, South Dakota, the daughter of Maurice and Vivian Bourne. She met her husband Richard who was stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base.  At the time both were students at Black Hills State College.  They were married at the Chapel in the Hills in Rapid City, SD on October 24th,1970, giving them a 52 year long extremely happy marriage. 
Darla was a dominant realtor in the Denver Metro area for decades. Her hobbies included spending time with her family and grandchildren. Darla was also a talented cook and enjoyed arts and crafts.  She thoroughly enjoyed her long walks in the park with Charlie Brown, her beloved doggie. Darla had a beautiful loving personality that everyone loved and will miss.  
Those left to honor her memory include her husband, Richard DeGuevara (Littleton, CO), daughter Jody (Chuck) Pierce (Littleton, CO), sons Dustin (Renee) DeGuevara (Noblesville, IN) and Colby (Sharon) DeGuevara (Highlands Ranch, CO).  Her sister Mona Stoner (Rapid City, SD) and brother, Verlyn (Cindy) Bourne (Custer, SD). Darla had 5 grandchildren, Colin, Kate, Molly, Lanell and Chloe, plus doggies Georgie, Bella, and Ben. 
 

Darla’s Unique World  -  Feb 13, 1950 – June 26, 2022

Life at Home till Marriage:  Brother Verlyn & Sister Mona Recap:

Born in Rapid City, South Dakota to Maurice & Vivian Bourne.  Brother - Verlyn & Sisters – Mona & Linda

Darla’s upbringing was a bit difficult.  Our mom was a full time nurse and our dad was handicapped, working from home cleaning cars and repairing watches.  Darla took our mother’s role and cooked our dinner on a regular basis and kept our house in order.  At times we misread her good intentions thinking she was trying to get us in trouble, when all she was doing was watching out for us.  Our mother was not strict.  She was so tender-hearted, she would cry if she had to spank me.  I would end up consoling her & telling her it didn’t hurt.  Darla got upset with our parent’s lack of discipline as we sneaked out at night, going to parties, racing motorcycles and simply being mischievous. 

For those of you who were close to Darla, knew she had grown up in a family that had a hard time showing emotion.  Darla would always come to visit and this meant so much to our mom.  When she would leave they would stand in the driveway waving goodbye with tears running down their faces, but not touching nor hugging each other.  Darla inherited the non hugging aspect from our Norwegian Mom & her sense of good humor and teasing from our Dad.  Over the years we all have learned to love, hug and respect each other.  We have grown so much closer over the last several years.

Darla was a warrior, battling her cancer every step of the way.  She survived in spite of some of the medical care she received.  She Loved her Family and wanted them around her at the end.  She was strong willed enough to wait for her son, Dustin, as he flew in from Indiana.  Plus, she waited for my sister Mona & I to drive down from South Dakota.  Darla was a force to be reckoned with.

We will miss you Darla!!!!     Brother Verlyn & sister Mona

The Rich & Darla Loving Marriage:

Soon after their marriage, husband Rich got an Air Force assignment to Hickam AFB, Honolulu, HI in 1970.  While here, they gave birth to their three children who were all born at Tripler Army Hospital in Hawaii – Dustin, Colby & Jody.  Upon his discharge in 1975, they faced a monumental challenge – where to locate?  Darla told Rich his home state – Arizona was too hot to live in…  Rich told Darla South Dakota was too cold…  They compromised and selected Littleton, CO.  With no job and a small savings they had all their personal belongings shipped to Denver…

Once here, Rich quickly found employment in the medical industry and Darla stayed quite busy with their young family which left her very little personal time.  These were great fun years as Darla met her mother role as being a Great Mom who could do it all, and she did it single handedly.  After getting through these critical and important years for their beloved offspring, Darla jumped into the Residential Real Estate business and quickly made it a successful career.  Her clients loved working with her as she was simply the Best!  In their later years, husband Rich joined her and they became a dynamic husband & wife R/E Team.  Darla did not hold back by giving Rich the labor portion of the business while she worked closely with her Buyer’s & Seller’s.

The following are personal daughter & sons key life experiences with their Beloved Mother:

Daughter Jody’s Recap:

Love is just a word.  Love is just a word my mom told me throughout the years, and I never understood what she meant by that until I was older.  Now, I see that Actions speak louder than words.  Everything my mom did was ALWAYS for her family.  Reminiscing through all of our family pictures confirmed to me all that she did was for us.  Her LOVE was shown through the special detail of every Birthday cake and Halloween costumes she made us throughout the years.  LOVE is being the cool mom loading my slumber party into the family van around midnight to go TPing.  LOVE is touching everyone she met with her infectious personality.  You see my mom was LOVE.  Everything she did and everyone she touched she LOVED.  She was the most true genuine selfless person I have ever known.  LOVE is battling cancer as hard as it may be to be here for your family…

I am who I am because of her and I will continue to spread her LOVE the rest of my life…

Son Colby’s Recap:

As I got older, I realized just how special my mom really was!  The exceptional job she did raising us children and taking care of all us for so many years is really unbelievable.  She always put us first and went out of her way to ensure we were Safe and Happy.  For her, grilling hamburgers and playing cards on a Friday night was all she needed – a simple life with simple expectations.

Then there was her personality.  Darla was a genuine person never afraid to speak her mind or tell you exactly what she was thinking.  This is why so many people looked up to her and admired her.  You never knew what you were going to get… but you did know it was going to be honest and from the heart.  I will miss her everyday but will continue to live my life to honor her, always.

Son Dustin’s Recap:

I always knew my mom as an exceptional person.  She not only raised a family, but she also raised a family to be best of friends. We all had so much respect and admiration for her continuous selfless love over the years that everyone reciprocated that love back to her over the last few years and cared for her tirelessly.

There is so much to say about my mom.  The one thing that I think everyone agrees on is that she danced to her own drum.  She had a parenting style that was extremely effective and unique.  She somehow formulated the perfect balance of being a parent and being a kid at heart.  The perfect example of that was 13 years ago when I decided I was well overdue to have my mid life crisis.  I called my parents and told them what no parent ever wants to hear that I was going to buy a Harley Davidson motorcycle.  My mom did what every parent would do and tried to convince me that it was too dangerous.  She called many times to convince me not to do it.  She then realized that I was blessed with her stubbornness, and I proceeded to buy it.  Not long after, she made a trip out to visit me.  One morning I walked my mom out to the garage and showed her my new cycle.  I started it up and at that moment I never saw my mom move so fast.  She jumped on the back and demanded a short ride.  She literally lit up like a Christmas tree.  It was that genuine kid at heart that made my mom so special.

Now that I am father, I hope to honor my mother and teach my daughters some life lessons that my mom taught me which is to get back to the basics.  I want them to call instead of texting.  I hope that they want to visit instead of email, and I want them to live selflessly.  And most importantly I hope that they will always be a kid at heart and never take life so seriously that they forget how to laugh and love life. 

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Rich & Darla were married for 52 Wonderful, Happy & Loving Golden Years!!!

We will miss our Beloved Wife, Beloved Mother & Beloved Grandmother!!!

May you Rest in Eternal Peace!!!

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