Oscar Z. Golden, 99

SISTERS, Ore.— Oscar Z. Golden, 99, 44-year resident of Del Norte and Monte Vista died Feb. 11, 2018. He was born to Sam and Alice Golden Oct. 22, 1918 in Ballinger, Texas.

He graduated from Woodson HS in 1937, attended business school for a year, completed a one year enlistment in the Army and worked in the oil fields until the war started. He rejoined the Army and spent three years in the Pacific theater in Australia, New Guinea and the Philippines. After the war he married Joy Hitzfeld in 1946 and attended college at Hardin Simmons and the University of Texas where he trained as a medical technologist.

He worked in Seguine, Texas and  Big Springs, Texas before settling in Hereford, Texas where he ran the lab in the county hospital and was also the x-ray technician. He then moved to the  Hereford Medical Clinic where he ran the medical lab as well as doing soil analysis, and pesticide residue analysis for local farmers.

In 1973 he started his move to Del Norte, where he and Dr. Barnett opened the Chula Vista Medical Clinic. He ran the lab there until he retired in 1988.

He and his wife, Joy, traveled to many places all over the world including Mexico, Canada, Alaska, Russia, China, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Italy, Switzerland, Luxembourg, France, Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea. Oscar moved to the Legacy in Monte Vista after the death of his wife of 69 years in 2015. He moved to Sisters, Oregon in October 2017 to be near family.

Oscar is survived by his son, Gordon and wife Mary, son, Mark and wife Judy, daughter Katie and husband Tom Baker, eight grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Please make gifts in memory of Oscar to the Rio Grande Hospital, 310 County Road 14, Del Norte, CO 81132. The family will hold a memorial at a later date.