Gail Martin

Tribute

On January 26th, Lari Martin shed her earthly pain and made a graceful exit, surrounded by the love she had nurtured all her life. Born January 12, 1941, in Trail, Canada, Lari spent her earliest years between the Queen Charlotte Islands and British Columbia places that perhaps planted the seeds for her lifelong love of beauty, nature, and adventure. In the late 1950s, she became a stewardess for United Airlines, beginning a lifetime of travel, style, and stories. She married and moved to the United States in 1962, settling in Colorado by 1967 and purchasing her beloved Dam West home in 1969 – where she would live, garden, decorate, entertain, and sparkle for the rest of her days. Lari was joy personified. A storyteller. An artist at heart. A woman who never met a stranger and rarely wore actual shoes — preferring flip flops, of course, ideally covered in bling. She loved fashion, travel, art, architecture, museums, and surrounding herself with original pieces collected from around the world. She had an eye for beauty and a soul that insisted on stopping to admire every flower and painting along the way. Her love language was simple and unmistakable: feed you, entertain you, and make sure you left happy. She was famous for her mac-n-cheese, tuna fish sandwiches, and what can only be described as the world’s greatest blue cheese dressing – an achievement that, frankly, deserves its own headline. Lari was a devoted mother and a “grandma” not only to her own grandchildren but to countless children she lovingly babysat through the years. She had a heart for animals and was rarely without a dog close by. Her yard became a sanctuary of flowers, waterfalls, fish, and hummingbirds – those tiny visitors she felt especially connected to. She asked that when we see a hummingbird, we think of her. Her spirit embodied joie de vivre and undying positivity. Even in painful moments, Lari would brighten a room with a joke and do everything she could to make others smile. To know her was truly to love her. Lari lived beautifully. She loved boldly. She dressed in bling. She gardened with wonder. She laughed easily. She fed everyone’s soul with not only food but with love. She leaves behind a legacy of joy, art, kindness, and forever her laughter resounding in our memories. She will always be admired, deeply loved, and remembered every time a hummingbird appears-or someone insists that flip flops can, in fact, be formalwear.

Friends & Family

She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister and her beloved son Cameron. She was prepared and looking forward to being reunited in eternal rest with them. She is survived by her brother Bob and his family; her daughter Dondi and beloved bonus son Rick; her son Scott and beloved bonus daughter Laura; her first and beloved, daughter-in-law Kellie; and her extended family of grandchildren and their partners – Troy and Julia, Madison and Andrew, Greyson and Renée, Kiffin and Mariam, Colton and fiancée Caylin – her first husband and life-long friend, Dick Martin, along with the many friends and “adopted” family members (including the dogs) who were lucky enough to be folded into her world.