Obituary of Dorrell Stapleton

Dorrell “Bobbie” Stapleton (Turley) died peacefully on the 14 Nov after a lengthy decline in her health. Born in 1940 in Springfield, IL, and spending many formative times in Lawrence, KS, Bobbie attended a one room schoolhouse in rural Sangamon County until her last two years where she graduated from Ball Township High School in 1957. While attending the University of Illinois, she married and started a family.

Divorced young and raising two children as a working mother, her life took her many places and her career path included underwriting, retail, entrepreneurship, and administrative positions in health care, and academia. In her early 40’s she made the decision to return to school and pursue an accounting degree at Florida Atlantic University –for two years commuting 90 minutes, three times a week, to Boca Raton. Bobbie graduated with honors, passed her CPA exam on the first try, and soon had a successful accounting firm in Port Saint Lucie.

Bobbie moved to Boulder, CO in 1984 and continued her accounting but again found the motivation to achieve, earning a Master of Taxation from the University of Denver Law School in 1988. At the same time, daughter Liz was attending the University of Colorado and the two had fond memories of their ‘roommate’ years eating ramen and broccoli on student budgets. Bobbie moved to the Denver area and grew her practice with a diversity of clients. Bobbie was a rare woman in a male dominated field and embraced her unique role with an approachable and caring style. Her social, outgoing nature was a lure, but her intellect and hard work was the reason she retained so many regulars. Bobbie absolutely loved people. She cherished her clients and never had a problem forming professional and personal friendships with them. She celebrated in their successes and sympathized in their failures.

Bobbie was a generous, loving soul who did so much for so many people and will be dearly missed. Surviving are her daughter Elizabeth Makings and husband Merle; her son, John Lampros, and wife Elisa, along with her grandchildren Alexandre, Pierre, Lou, and Oliver Lampros.

Please consider a donation to Harmony Point Nursing Center in honor of Bobbie. 1655 Yarrow St, Lakewood, CO 80214.