Tara Jo (Dooley) Pyle, 65, of Longmont, Colorado, passed away at her home on April 8, 2025.She was preceded in death by her husband, Dan Pyle, and father, Larry Dooley. Her mother,Lucena Becker Olsen, passed away five days later (April 13, 2025).

Tara is survived by her children, Janell (Evans) Tracy and Zachary (Amanda) Evans;grandchildren Annie (Evans) Hopkins (Sydney), Connor Evans, Tyler and Alexander James “AJ”Tracy, and her infant great-grandson, Bane Hopkins. Tara’s surviving parent is Bob Olsen, andher surviving siblings are Lisa (Dooley) Jones, Kyle Dooley, and Talise (Olsen) Chandler (Chad).

Tara is also survived by her nieces and nephews Kiri (Decker) Riofrio (Tony), Shelby (Dooley)Hampton (Nick), Kelsey Decker, Tianna Chandler (Kellan Roth), Hannah Dooley (ParkerRobinson), Ryan, Lainey, and Sawyer Chandler; Brooke and London Riofrio, Logan and OtisHampton, Trynitie Alvarado, and Naqoa and Axxyl Decker.

Born in McPherson, Kansas on December 31, 1959, Tara spent the first ten years of her life inKansas after which she moved to Colorado. She later graduated from Broomfield High School in1978. Tara went on to earn her Registered Nursing degree from the Westminster campus ofFront Range Community College in 1985 and quickly made her way from floor nurse tooperating room nurse.

Tara achieved great success as an operating room nurse and was a proud member of the heartteam at Aurora Humana Hospital where she worked as a cardiovascular operating room nurse(CVOR nurse) specializing in cardiac surgery. Working as a CVOR/perioperative nurse broughther great joy and satisfaction. To be able to assist during open heart surgery and responsible forassisting with closing patients after surgery was an important accomplishment for her. Tara alsoworked as an OR/CVOR nurse at St. Francis Hospital in Honolulu, HI, Longmont UnitedHospital in Longmont, CO, and the Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, CO in otherphases of her life.

Tara loved to travel and try new things and she had an entrepreneurial spirit. This inclination ledher to pursue various industries and hobbies throughout her life, some alongside nursing, andsome instead of nursing. Professionally, she spent time working in the medical systemsintegration field both for HBOC/McKesson as well as in launching her own small company. Herpursuits took her to both Honolulu, Hawaii, and later, to Beaumont, Texas, where she met herhusband, Dan Pyle.

Dan and Tara enjoyed five years together. A Texas native and gulf fishing guide, Dan helpedimmerse Tara in Cajun fare and before long she was making etouffee, jambalaya, and crawfishboil. While they enjoyed Texas, they were drawn to Colorado. When they relocated, theydiscovered their love of making hand-carved knives and opened their own store in Estes Parkwhich they called Rocky Mountain Knife Works. Following his death, Tara closed the shop andturned her attention back to nursing and pursuing her other interests.

In 2006, Tara opened a kitchen shop in Windsor where she sold an assortment of kitchengadgets, pottery, bakeware, and cookware. While the store was a fun way for Tara to share herlove of cooking, Tara soon returned to the nursing field as a home health care nurse in whichfield she worked until her retirement. She loved connecting with people and caring for theirmedical needs. Her patients adored her and were grateful for her skill, warmth, and naturalsense of humor. Tara was also a nurse to the family- she was often called on by various familymembers for consultation about their medical needs. She was always concerned abouteveryone’s health in the family, often urging them to see their doctor or visit the urgent careclinic if in need.

An adventurous soul, Tara loved trying all kinds of activities and hobbies. Some of her favoriteswere golf, fishing, cooking, baking, gardening, card games, knife-making, sewing, and crafts.The last ten years of her life she took to sewing flannel pillowcases and blankets and creatingtree sculptures out of petrified wood bases and curved wire trunks and branches. Tara was verycreative and loved to stay busy making and selling her wares at craft shows and online.

After living in many different places throughout her life, Tara settled in the Fall River Apartmentsin Longmont in 2021. She made the best friends she had in her life during those four years. Shegreatly enjoyed the sense of community and loved participating in the building’s many funactivities including craft days and outings to professional shows such as Shen Yun Chinesedance in Denver. She tended her garden plot each summer and loved visiting with herneighbors. One of her favorite memories was the community Halloween dog parade where sheand her friends created unique costumes for their dogs. Tara sewed a bodysuit for her tiny dog,Suzie, to look like a little wind-up toy.

Tara loved cooking for a crowd and trying new recipes, and there were many times she invitedthe family together for meals she discovered from her travels such as tempura and ShrimpLanikai from Hawaii, gulf shrimp (freshly caught in Texas by her and Dan), fondue, and variouschocolate desserts- Tara loved chocolate in all its’ forms. While Tara explored many hobbiesand interests, she loved her family and her heart was with her grandchildren. She loved to havethem over to her house and to play games, cook, and just spend time together.

Tara was so much fun to be around. She loved to laugh and her explosive cackle would oftenget everyone in the room laughing with her. She had a big heart and was a generous person.She will be deeply missed. Tara will be memorialized at a private family gathering at WindsorLake, where she enjoyed spending time with her children and grandchildren.