Martha Alice Quillen, 75, passed away peacefully on August 8, 2026 surrounded by her family. Martha was a beloved mother, grandmother and dear friend. She was born October 4, 1950 in Albion, Michigan to James and Dorothy (Mitchell) Patterson. Her family moved to Denver when she was a teenager, where she graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in 1968.
Martha attended the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. There, she joined the college newspaper and quickly met the love of her life, Ed Quillen. They married on June 26, 1969. After college, they worked together at small-town newspapers for many years. In 1975, they bought the Middle Park Times in Kremmling, making them Colorado’s youngest publishers.
After buying the Kremmling paper, they were blessed with two daughters, Columbine and Abby. The paper was printed on the other side of the mountains, so every week, they made the trek over Rabbit Ears Pass. After more than one treacherous trip, they decided to sell the paper and move. In 1978, they found themselves in the quaint mountain town of Salida, where they would live for the rest of their lives.
Martha loved small-town living, and she was a dedicated mother, who prided herself on introducing her daughters to literature, critical thinking, and the great outdoors. The family spent many weekends camping, hiking, and exploring historical sites across Colorado. Martha always had a hot pot of coffee brewing. With her husband Ed, she welcomed scholars, writers, poets, politicians, and friends to her kitchen table to discuss history and current events. Martha was passionate about reading and writing. She and Ed ghost-wrote several Western novels and co-founded Colorado Central Magazine in 1994, which they ran together until they sold it in 2009.
Martha taught herself to play piano and took great joy in playing and writing music. She wrote fiction throughout her life and loved to draw and paint. Even her doodles looked like she’d attended art school. For nearly all of her adult life, she walked several miles per day, either around town or in the mountains. She cherished her many close friends and a life filled with loving cats and dogs.
Martha is survived by her older daughter Columbine Quillen and her son-in-law Brad Goettemoeller, her younger daughter Abby Quillen and her son-in-law Aaron Thomas, her grandsons Ezra and Ira Thomas, her sisters Gail Anshutz and Patty Strackbein, and her many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband of 43 years, Ed Quillen.
Please come celebrate Martha’s life at a memorial service at Salida United Methodist Church on Saturday, October 10, 2026 at 10 a.m. Afterward, everyone is invited to a luncheon at the Salida Scout Hut in Riverside Park at 12 p.m. to share stories and memories. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Salida Regional Library or your local library.
To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Martha Alice Quillen, please visit: Tree Store.
