Lucille “Dutchess” Scheitler, whose late husband, Bill, served 16 years on the Denver City Council, died Jan. 29 — two weeks to the day after being diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. She was 78.
She was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery on Feb. 4, following a funeral Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.
“She was the matriarch of an incredible north Denver family,” says longtime friend James Mejia, who managed the Department of Parks and Recreation under former Mayor Wellington Webb.
Her father, Joe Iacino, was a soft drink distributor perhaps best known for helping to start the legendary Denver Broncos Orange Crush promotion that gained national attention in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Susan Kiely, the founder of Women With A Cause, recalls the welcome that Scheitler extended when Kiely and her husband, Leo, then chief executive at Coors, moved to Denver 23 years ago. “I grew to love her for her warmth, fabulous sense of humor and incredible faith. She and I spent many hours trying to figure out the world’s problems.”
Kiely has honored her friend’s memory by establishing a nursing scholarship in Scheitler’s name at Regis University. Scheitler earned her nursing degree from the former Loretto Heights College and her master’s degree from the University of Colorado. She had worked as a nurse at the Colorado State Hospital in Pueblo, St. Anthony Hospital and Jefferson County schools.
She met Bill Scheitler when they were students at Holy Family High School. They were married July 26, 1958, and had five children: Jill, Frank, Eric, Karen and Kirk. Bill Scheitler was 63 when he died, also from cancer, in 2000.
In his eulogy, Denver’s deputy auditor, Gary Sulley, described Scheitler as a loving mother and grandmother who relished keeping family traditions alive: in particular, a Christmas Eve seafood feast. “This past Christmas Eve was the 90th anniversary of that extended family tradition, and Dutchess radiated in pride.”
Her husband was the one elected to office, Sulley added, but “in politics, Dutchess was a pro. She helped on countless campaigns because she firmly believed that finding, supporting and electing good public officials would, and did, make it better for everyone.”
She also “had a passion for north Denver. She was born there Aug. 16, 1936, lived her entire life there and fought continually to protect it.”
In addition to her children, Scheitler is survived by nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
The family suggests contributions to the St. Anthony Hospital Foundation, 11600 W. Second Place, Lakewood 80228.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314, jdavidson@ denverpost.com or twitter.com/joannedavidson
