There will be a lot to celebrate when family, friends and community members gather next week to remember the life of Mildred Alsdorf.

After all, it was a full life to the end for the former longtime Garfield County Clerk and Recorder who maintained a calendar of civic and community involvement well into her senior years.

Alsdorf died Aug. 28. She was 93.

The family has planned a celebration of life for 1 p.m. Sept. 24 at Two Rivers Community School in West Glenwood.

“She taught all of us to care, to be kind, to work hard and always be willing to help,” daughter Cheryl Hurst Page said.

That went not only for her children, but also for everyone Alsdorf met along her life’s path, she said.

“She just couldn’t slow down, and that was to the community’s benefit, no doubt,” Hurst said.

Alsdorf was one of the longest-serving Garfield County elected officials, becoming Clerk and Recorder in 1978 after seven years working for her predecessor and remaining in the clerk’s position until 2006.

In that role, she oversaw many county elections, as well as motor-vehicle registrations, real-estate transactions and vital records.

“It was such a pleasure working for her, and she was such a wonderful example for us,” said current Clerk and Recorder Jean Alberico, who immediately succeeded Alsdorf and is also retiring after this year. 

“She was a public servant at heart, and she loved being county clerk,” Alerico said. “She was just a warm, caring person.”

After retiring from the county clerk’s job at age 77, Alsdorf would continue to work for the senior transportation Traveler Program and was a champion of senior causes on the Garfield County Senior Advisory Board, and with organizations such as Senior Matters in Carbondale.

She volunteered on numerous other boards and civic organizations and remained an active member of the American Legion all her life. She was an organizer and regular attendee at the annual Memorial Day services in Rosebud Cemetery in Glenwood Springs.

Even though she was an active member of the Garfield County Republican Party, she was the consummate nonpartisan when it came to carrying out the duties of the Clerk and Recorder’s Office and in helping people understand the political process, daughter Pati Moreno noted.

She recalled that her mother always enjoyed speaking to high school and college civics and government classes alongside representatives from the local Democratic Party and helping explain the different points of view and the elections process in general. 

“When people talk about her, you can just hear the smile in their voice,” Moreno said. “It just brings so much joy. … And she always accepted people and passed onto us that we need to be more accepting of others.”

Added son Mike Alsdor: “I know those who knew her and dealt with her in all that she did have their own stories, but, for me, she was just my mom. She was special, and I’m glad she was able to share that with everyone else she met.” 

Longtime Garfield County Commissioner John Martin said he admired Alsdorf for staying active as a single mother early in her career following the death of her husband, Carrol, and later in life, well beyond retirement years.

“She was one of the kindest (people) and always up for a challenge,” he said. “She never stopped caring for people and doing things for others.”

Senior Reporter/Managing Editor John Stroud can be reached at 970-384-9160 or jstroud@postindependent.com.