Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Dorothy Marie Kvols, a longtime director of the Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce, died at a nursing home in Colorado in November. She was less than two weeks from her 101st birthday.
Kvols led the Tucumcari-based chamber for about 35 years, according to her obituary.
She also was active in the Tucumcari chapter of Altrusa International sorority, the Red Hat Ladies group and the Center Street Methodist Church in Tucumcari.
Dorothy Marie Thompson Kvols was born Nov. 19, 1923, in Laurel, Nebraska. She married her husband, Damon Kvols, in 1942.
They initially raised their family on a farm in Nebraska. Dorothy’s grandson, Kris Kvols, said Damon had arthritis and was told New Mexico’s climate would be better for his health. So they sold the farm and moved to Tucumcari in 1958. The initially bought a newspaper stand in the city, then the Western Auto Store.
Damon Kvols, who also had been president of the local chamber of commerce for two years, died when his car collided with a large truck on U.S. 66 between San Jon and the Texas border on April 6, 1970. He was 48.
“The ironic thing was he participated in trying to improve the safety of that highway,” Kris Kvols said, noting U.S. 66 between the Texas line and Tucumcari was called “Slaughter Lane” because its deadly accidents before it was bypassed by Interstate 40 a few years later.
The day of Damon’s death, Tucumcari Mayor Kenneth Schlientz proposed that a park next to the chamber building be renamed after him. The city commission approved the proposal, and the park still bears Damon Kvols’ name.
The next year, Dorothy Kvols became the director of the chamber — a position she would hold for decades. She eventually was honored by state officials for her tourism efforts.
“She was very dedicated to Tucumcari and all things New Mexico,” Kris Kvols said. “She was very dedicated, very hard-working. And she was resilient. It’s a big thing to push on after her husband died. She was a really special lady.”
Kris Kvols recalled that Dorothy walked a mile each day, wearing a hat during hot weather.
“That’s a key to her longevity,” he said.
Kris also said his grandmother also liked wearing New Mexico-made turquoise jewelry and made new Christmas sweaters each year.
Kvols in 2016 moved to Bellevue, Colorado.
She was preceded in death by her husband, her parents and two siblings. She is survived by one brother, one sister, three children, five grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren.
Her family will hold a memorial for her in the spring in Wayne, Nebraska, where she will be buried beside her husband in Greenwood Cemetery there.
Allnutt Funeral Services in Colorado was in charge of arrangements.