Maurice Berneil "Deke" DePriest was born on the 16th of January 1923 in Nortonville, Conejos, Colorado, United States [1] [2]. He was the fourth son and sixth child born to Jesse Thomas DePriest and Freda "Pearl" Von Cannon.
Deke lived with is family in Conejos County [3] before moving to Alamosa County. Deke was baptized on the 6th of August 1933 in the Ephriam Canal, southwest of Sanford, Conejos County. He went to the Excelsior school with his siblings. Deke was athletic and spent a lot of time running and ice skating with his sisters and brother. He and his sister he was a teaser
Deke joined the United States Navy and fought in World War II [4]. When he returned home, he married Ruth Elaine Schlosser on the 18th of November 1946. They had two children: James Duane "Jim" DePriest and Glen Michael "Mike" DePriest. Deke lived in Buena Vista, Chafee County while working as a welder at the Climax Mine.
Deke died in Salida, Chaffee, Colorado on the 11th of August 1975. He was buried the 13th of August 1975 in the Mount Olivet Cemetery located in Buena Vista, Chaffee County [5].
Footnotes:
1. Nortonville was a small farming community northeast of Sanford still in Conejos County. (The mailing address was Sanford.)
2. 1930 United States Census: Sanford, Conejos, Colorado.
3. 1940 United States Census: Conejos, Colorado.
4. World War II Memorial: Conejos, Colorado.
5. Headstone image from findagrave.com.
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