Rosemary Durham

Ann Rosemary Orr Durham was born on Dec 2, 1936 to Olive Dale Orr and Donald Pointon Orr in Thonon-Les-Bains, France, the second of three children.  She was raised the daughter of missionaries. Donald was the founder of the Alpine Mission in the French Alps (http://www.meaf-france.org/). Rosemary lived in France until the family was forced to flee the oncoming Nazi German Army in 1940, boarding one of the last passenger ships out of Calais.   During the war years they lived in London and Gainford in England. She often told stories of her adventures with cousins and how she missed her father, who served with the English Armed Forces in North Africa. At the end of 1946 the family returned to France and served near Sallanches. Boarding School was not for Rosemary, and she "escaped” and returned home on more than one occasion. Academically she shined in French Literature, finishing first place at Le College d’Albertville.  At 17 she was supported to attend Wheaton College in Illinois, only returning home once in four years of study. She finished a degree in languages, philosophy and history and was part of the founding group and authors of the original constitution for International Students at Wheaton College.   She spent the summer of 1957 studying at the University of Colorado in Boulder and had many fond memories of her first adventure West.  She met Stan Durham at the home of her father during the summer of her junior year and began corresponding with him long distance once he returned to America.  Upon graduation from Wheaton, she spent time in Baltimore, NY, and then Europe.   She attended London Bible College for a year of intensive theological study, including Greek and Church History.  She worked in an orphanage in Dinan, France for a year, caring for up to ten abandoned children, drawing water from a well each day. Stan proposed by mail and eventually they were married in Albertville, France on August 2, 1960.   After a brief honeymoon in Frankfurt, Germany (necessitated by visa paperwork), they moved to Dallas, Texas for two years, where Stan was studying.  There were many moves over the next 20 years, both overseas and in the United States, as Stan pursued advanced education and job changes. During this time Rosemary raised four children and used her language skills and other abilities to work outside of the home on occasion. Stan and Rosemary ultimately settled in Casper, Wyoming, where they lived until 2008 when Rosemary’s medical needs necessitated moving to northern Colorado. She resided in Loveland, CO until the time of her passing.  Rosemary was preceded in death by her husband, Stan, her parents and her younger brother, Andrew. She is survived by her children Carl (Olivia), Chris (Jeanette), Kathy Mattson (Dan), and Rachael McQuillan; grandchildren Grace (Pierre), Rory (Emily), James, Timothy (Carissa), Sarah, Allyson, Arryn, Ethan, Eiley, Simon, Isabelle, and Sam; and great granddaughter Brooke. She is also survived by her older brother, Paddy Orr. Her family counts it their great privilege that Rosemary was the caretaker of their home, raising them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:4). Memorial service at Calvary United Reformed Church in Loveland, CO on Saturday, June 1, 2019 at 11:00am.