Chester D Nivens

Chester Donal Nivens was born to Walter and Bernice Nivens on September 6, 1932, in Alton, Missouri.  He was the youngest of 6 children.  He attended school in Alton for most of each year, except when the family traveled to Montana for sugar beet harvest.  He eventually left home to join the United States Air Force where he served as a fireman stationed both here and overseas.  When he discharged from the military, he traveled a good portion of the country and held a number of different jobs, including as a parking attendant for a garage in Portland, Oregon, as a longshoreman along the Pacific Northwest coast, as a traveling carnival worker, and as a farm and ranch hand, among others.  He eventually made his way to Colorado as a “Broomcorn Johnie” in the 1960s, where he started work in the Campo, Colorado area.  He worked on both the O’Maley farm and for the Schnaufer ranch in Campo for a number of years.  He became a member of the Baca County Road and Bridge Crew, which became his occupation until his retirement at the age of 83.  He resided in the Baca County area for the remainder of his life.

Chester married Shirley Payne in 1956, to this marriage was born 2 children:  Linda Sue and Walter.  Chester later married Earlene O’Maley in 1968, and 2 children were born to that marriage:  Donna and Bernice.  He married Sherri in 1999, and they resided in Campo until her death in 2013.  His home burned in 2014, and the residents of Campo helped him establish a new home there until his death on June 4, 2020.

Chester is survived by his children Linda Sue Nivens of Roy, Washington, Walter Nivens of Puyallup, Washington, Donna (Michael) Aragon of Fowler, CO,  Bernice (Lyle) Huffman of Potter, Nebraska, his stepson William Tomaszewski of Kansas, and 5 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Walter and Bernice Nivens, his siblings Virgie, John, George, James, and Austin, his son-in-law John Kerschen, and his wife Sherry.

Chester was known to many of his acquaintances as “Ornery” and to his siblings as “Runt.”   He enjoyed making people laugh and could tell a good story about his experiences with life and people.  He was very mischievous all of his life, and his antics were well-known.  He could tell you stories about how fast his siblings could push him on the treadle of his mother’s sewing machine as a child and the trouble that resulted when the siblings took off when they heard Mother coming and he was caught still riding.  He loved to explain the horror on the face of the friend to whose car he had rigged with a smoke bomb on the starter.  His daughters were cautious during sleepovers because he had been known to tie the toes of all of the girls in attendance together as they slept if feet could be found sticking out of the blankets on the living room floor.   No one in his household could sleep past 5 a.m. because if it were possible to get his truck close to the window of the room where you were sleeping, he would honk repeatedly until you came outside, at which point he would drive off laughing.

Chester was always busy.  He enjoyed training his horse named Buttons to perform tricks, and he was known for his little dogs, one of which had been seen driving the riding lawnmower down the highway in Campo.  Fishing in every water hole within 100 miles of his home and watching wrestling and old westerns filled his free time, and he enjoyed gardening and sharing his bounty from that and the fishing with anyone who would take either a fish or a squash.    He and Sherry were known to offer a hot meal and help to stranded travelers, and he could find or deliver almost anything if asked for help by someone.  He spent many hours recycling aluminum cans and saving the tabs for the Ronald McDonald House project, and he encouraged everyone around him to do the same.  He enjoyed showing people around the area and sharing the historic side of Picture Canyon with his daughters as they were growing up, and he tried his hardest to pass on his love of auctions and treasure collecting with his daughters and his grandchildren.  He passed on his ornery side to his grandchildren and would acknowledge that he deserved every bit of harassment he got back from them.

Visiting hours are  Monday, June 8 ^th at the Maltbie Funeral Home in Springfield, Colorado from 5 to 7 p.m., and graveside services are set for Tuesday, June 9 ^th at 10:00 a.m. in the Mount Carmel Cemetery in Campo, Colorado.  Anyone attending the service will be invited to share fond memories in a Celebration of Life.

Memorial donations are suggested to go to the Campo Quick Response Team. Please make checks payable to CAMPO QRT, and mail to the Campo Town Clerk, P.O. Box 116, Campo, CO 81029