Oh Very Young, what will you leave us this time
You’re only dancin’ on this earth for a short while
And though your dreams may toss and turn you now
They will vanish away like your dad’s best jeans
Denim blue, faded up to the sky
And though you want them to last forever
You know they never will
(You know they never will)
And the patches make the goodbye harder still.
—Cat Stevens
Ginger Perkins was special to a lot of people in Telluride. For my mother-in-law, it was because Ginger once snatched up her favorite blue jeans, which were full of holes, and patched them. She stitched bright, beautiful pieces of fabric to the denim by hand, turning the old jeans into a funky, colorful treasure. My mother-in-law was touched by Ginger’s gift, and how much time and effort she put into it.
Ginger did the same thing for our community. As the co-owner of The Mortgage Store in town, she filled a different kind of hole: she helped place people in local homes. She was a petite but feisty woman, and an invaluable person to have on your side if you were navigating the mortgage market. She was adept at helping people finance (and refinance) homes, and was genuinely happy when she was able to do so. Her eyes would sparkle as her fingers worked her magic on her keyboard, translating the person before her into numbers that would work for a bank, hoping to fill her community with another colorful member. She was relentless and seemed to personally know and embrace all of her clients. Her clients became a part of her wide circle of friends.
Ginger was in a serious car accident in the beginning of November. She fought hard to recover but she never made it out of the intensive care unit at the hospital, and she passed away Dec. 9, 2011. She will be missed by her friends, her husband Carter Smith, her family and the wonderful community that she so lovingly helped to piece together.