MONTPELIER, VERMONT Emily Stepenske, 97, formerly of Colorado Springs and more recently of Montpelier, died Friday, Jan. 8, 2010, at Woodridge Nursing Home in Berlin, Vermont. Emily was born in Chicago on Jan. 25, 1912, to Joseph and Emma Honsa. She grew up in Brookfield, Illinois; after secretarial school, she worked as a legal stenographer for law firms in downtown Chicago. In Aug. 1940 she traveled to Colorado for the first time; she fell in love with the mountains and was determined to return. In Jan. 1945 she married Robert E. Stepenske of Berwyn, Illinois. Emily met Robert at a ballroom in Chicago and was always happiest when dancing. After five years in the Chicago area they headed west and settled for several years in Arvada, near Denver. In 1959 they returned to the midwest, living first in Waupaca, Wisconsin, then in Antioch and later Barrington, Illinois, before returning to Colorado in the mid-60s. After her husband died in Denver in 1970, Emily left Colorado and moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, where her daughter Lorraine was then living. In 1983 Emily returned to her beloved Colorado and settled in downtown Colorado Springs. There she enjoyed dancing at the senior center, folk dancing, concerts at nearby Colorado College, and short hikes in the foothills. She volunteered with Marian House, helping out at the community soup kitchen and providing clerical assistance. In 2005 she moved to Montpelier, Vermont, to live with her daughter Joan. Emily is survived by her daughter Joan Stepenske and son-in-law Robert Troester of Montpelier; daughter Lorraine Stepenske of Saguache, Colorado; nephew William Honsa of Bangkok, Thailand; and niece Mary Ann Shinnick of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Emily was predeceased by her brothers Joseph, William, Edward and Theodore Honsa. Guare & Sons Funeral Home in Montpelier handled Vermont arrangements; there are no services in Vermont. Graveside services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 15, at Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, Colorado; arrangements are by Olinger¹s Mortuary at 8600 E. Hampden Ave., Denver, CO 80231. Contributions in Emily¹s memory may be made to the Woodridge Activity Fund, Woodridge Nursing Home, PO Box 550, Barre, VT 05641, or to Mesa Housing, Inc., 420 Mesa Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80905 (provides low-cost temporary housing for the homeless and poor). Those wishing to send online condolences may do so at www.guareandsons.com and go to Emily's obituary.