Babe Dunn and Sue Gentry were a lot alike.
They were the same height at 5 feet 2 inches, and both were hardworking, independent women who spoke their minds and put family above everything.
Dunn and Gentry were practically best friends and were also mother and daughter, and they died within a week of each other.
“It’s a real shock for my brother and me,” said Jodi Smith, Gentry’s daughter and Dunn’s granddaughter.
“When Mom shows up in heaven, Granny is going to say, ‘What are you doing here?”‘ said Gentry’s son, Buzz.
Babe Dunn, a former mayor of Empire, died April 1 at age 90. Gentry, who had been battling cancer, was treated for a lung collapse the same day and died April 7 at 71.
Gentry, of Aurora, wanted her mother to move down from Empire into the city, but Dunn refused. So Gentry visited her several times a week when her own health permitted.
For several years, Dunn owned the Hard Rock Cafe, the grocery, laundry and liquor store in Empire, about 35 miles west of Denver. She also was deputy sheriff for a time.
“Granny had no fear,” Buzz Gentry said. “Everyone else was afraid of her.”
After she retired, Dunn often prepared dinners for the local senior citizens.
Smith and Buzz Gentry spent summers with their grandmother in Empire, learning about business, stocking shelves, customer service and good manners, Smith said.
“She taught me the customer was always right,” she said. Both also learned that if they got crosswise with their “Granny,” they were likely to get paddled.
Sue Gentry was more shy and quiet but could be a “spitfire,” family members said. She was devoted to the Colorado Rockies and for years was an usher at home games.
Emma “Babe” Duncan was born Feb. 20, 1915, in Missouri and moved to Colorado with her family when she was young.
Emma Duncan married Henry Floth, who died when their daughter was 13. She later married Gilbert Dunn, and they divorced.
Babe Dunn moved to Empire in 1949.
Sue Floth was born Dec. 9, 1933, in Ault. She met Lloyd Gentry in Denver, and they married Feb. 12, 1952. He died in 1995.
She was an executive secretary for more than 20 years at Sears Corp.
The women are survived by Gentry’s son, daughter and five grandchildren.
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at 303-820-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com.
