RANGELY | Gerald and Nancy Ahrens of Rangely are this week’s “home of” honorees.
“We were married in 1960 and moved here in 1963. Gerald worked for Chevron. In 1983, we moved with Chevron to North Dakota, then later to Wyoming and then to Vernal, Utah. Gerald retired from Chevron in 1997 and we moved back home to Rangely,” Nancy explained.
Gerald and Nancy will be married 52 years March 19.
Gerald started with Chevron as a pumper gauger, worked on the roustabout crew and became a production supervisor when he moved to Glenburn, N.D. He was a production supervisor until his retirement.
“I’ve been a grocery store checker at Nichols store, cooked at CNCC, drove the school bus, wrapped meat for the Bestway grocery store part-time, and worked for Don Strain at the drug store. I had a lot of jobs. I would quit in the summertime to be home with the kids then go back to work,” Nancy said.
The Ahrens have four children. Their twin boys, Kent and Keith, were 9 months old when the Ahrens moved to Rangely. Their other two children were born here. Kent has three children: Derek, Taylor Ann and Halle Ann. Kent lives in Rangely with his wife Brenda. Kent’s son Derek and his wife Mesha also live in Rangely and have a daughter, Kenna, who is Gerald and Nancy’s first great-grandchild.
Gerald and Nancy’s son Keith, his wife Nancy, and son Jeremy are also Rangely residents. Darrell Ahrens, his wife Nancy, son Broc and daughter Cameron live in Palisade. Gerald and Nancy’s daughter Bobbi Lyn Barnes, her husband Devlin and daughter Bailey live in Grand Junction.
“We have three Nancys in the family, I’m Grandma, Keith’s wife is Nancy Ann and Darrell’s wife is Nancy Marie,” Nancy clarified.
“Gerald is an avid fisherman and we go camping three or four times a year. We go to Marvine for Memorial Day, which we’ve done as a tradition for years. We also go annually to Glendo Reservoir in Wyoming to fish with friends. My big thing is kids, grandkids and family,” added Nancy.
“We’ve lived here so long, we used to know everybody, maybe not as much these last few years. We like the friendly folks of Rangely and all the friends we’ve had here. We have the best of both worlds. We live in a small town and can go to the big town of Grand Junction when we visit family,” Nancy concluded.