Lois Roslund was there when a time capsule was buried near Denver’s Currigan Hall in 1969, and she was there 31 years later, when it finally was found after a several-day search.
Services for Roslund, who died April 2 at age 94, will be at 2 p.m. June 26 at Faith Presbyterian Church in Aurora.
Roslund was an officer in Altrusa, the women’s organization that raised the $25,000 to place the time capsule and a fountain in front of Currigan Hall on 14th Street in downtown Denver.
When Currigan was razed in 2000, workers couldn’t find the time capsule. But Roslund was certain where it was and sometimes went to the site to watch crews dig for it with backhoes and jackhammers.
Buried under more than 4 feet of concrete, it was finally found some days later before builders started on the Colorado Convention Center.
Inside the capsule were copies of both Denver daily newspapers, a scroll with signatures of the late Gov. John Love and former Mayor Tom Currigan, and information about Altrusa, said Roslund’s daughter-in-law, Glenda Roslund.
Her passion for the time capsule was exceeded by her passion for children.
A longtime first-grade teacher, Roslund realized early in her career that there were children in her class who had no books. She decided to make picture books for them and enlisted the help of her children and friends. The books contained pictures by subject, and Roslund often used them in teaching, said her son, Sid Roslund of Denver.
An idea was born that lasted more than half a century, as Roslund began making picture books for children in hospitals, children of migrant workers in northern Colorado, American Indian children and even a U.N. organization.
Each page of the 12- to 14-page books had a theme: animals, foreign countries, ships. The project got so big, said one of her colleagues, Marilyn Baker, “that she was getting pictures mailed to her from all over the country. Friends and friends of friends sent pictures for the project,” said Baker, of Denver.
“She was very particular” in making the collage of pictures for each page, Baker said.
Roslund was still making the books, actually cardboard binders, a few months ago. Glenda Roslund estimated her mother-in-law had made close to 10,000 books. Sid Roslund, Glenda Roslund’s husband, said: “I still have 25 deliveries for Children’s Hospital.”
Roslund volunteered for dozens of organizations, almost all connected with children. For a time, she was alumnae director at Colorado Women’s College.
Lois Allen Stratton was born in Denver on June 21, 1915. She graduated from North High School; Colorado Women’s College, a two-year program; and the University of Denver, where she earned an education degree.
She married Oliver Sidney Roslund in 1942. He died in 1992. In addition to her son and daughter-in-law, she is survived by her daughter, Carol Roslund of Keystone; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
