Vivian Lou Cheney

Vivian Lou Riffer Cheney was born in Troy, Kansas, August 20, 1926. Her father was a pharmacist and being the oldest of three children, she began helping out at the drugstore at an early age. She spent much of her childhood in Corning, Kansas, where she graduated in 1944 and went on to get her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Kansas. Vivian met her husband Jim at a college dance in 1946, and they were married in 1947. Vivian taught school in Perry, Kansas, until they moved to Missouri where Jim had taken a job with the Boy Scouts of America. Vivian’s love of music was always present as she guided young musicians. When she left Missouri, the Southern Boone High School senior class in Ashland dedicated the yearbook to her saying, “She has taken the silent instruments of So. Bo. Co. and taught them how to play again. She has filled our hearts with song.”

Jim and Vivian began vacationing in the Paonia area in 1966 spending much of their time at Erickson Springs Ranch with Helen Hawkins and Jack and Margaret Patton. In 1976, the job of town administrator came open while they were visiting, and the position was offered to Jim. He took it, and he moved later that year with Vivian coming after the school year ended in Ashland. Vivian taught band and chorus at Paonia High School and later middle school language arts. When she retired in 1997, she had been a public school teacher for 50 years. She taught piano lessons to the children of the Paonia area and enjoyed music performances throughout the North Fork area especially at the Blue Sage Center for the Arts. Vivian was a founding member of the Valley Symphony and played her violin with the symphony for 42 years. She played the piano and organ at the Paonia Methodist Church from the time she and Jim joined the church in 1977 until 2023. She and her friend Glenna Sierecki helped at the Methodist Thrift Store and helped serve meals at the Paonia Senior Center. She was an avid bridge player and enjoyed playing both in Paonia and with groups in Montrose.

Vivian passed away on April 4, 2025, at the Crossroads Senior Living Center in Delta, Colorado. She is survived by her sister-in-law, Sheral Riffer of Houston, Texas, and several nieces and nephews. She was well-loved in our community, and her many friends will miss her dearly. A funeral service will be held at the Paonia United Methodist Church on May 3, 2025, at 10:00 am