Christ Community Covenant Church

Libby Sonnenberg

She's attended 4C's since 1987, but in truth only became a voting member about five years ago. You'll find her right down in front at the second service each Sunday. We all know her as Libby Sonnenberg, but on December 9, 1930, her parents named the oldest of their twin daughters Elizabeth Ann Duncan. Her identical sister, Ella Louise, came soon after her at St. Francis Hospital in Colorado Springs. It was the depression and her dad, Scotty Duncan, quipped that “trouble came in pairs during those days” (he was kidding about the girls of course)! He and wife Elizabeth welcomed the girls to their growing family that already included two older brothers, and soon, another son. Home was a farm near Yoder, CO, about 40 miles east of Colorado Springs where the family raised cattle and farmed corn and beans. Their house, built by their father and grandfather, was not large and had no electricity, phone, or running water. Farm equipment consisted of a sturdy team of horses and strong arms to steer them. Dad and the boys did fieldwork, while the girls learned early to cook, clean, and work in the garden leaving mother time to sew all of the family's clothes. Times were tough, but everyone pitched in to make the family farm work.

Libby and her sister were closer to their younger brother and she remembers fondly the three of them riding together on one of the team horses. While the two older boys tended the farm, dad, mom, and the three youngest children would take the truck to town where dad sold cream and eggs. During these trips they always took time to visit their grandmother and looked forward to a special ice cream treat before heading home. Libby and her siblings rode the bus 7 miles to school in Yoder. There were 50 students in the school, and only three in Libby’s class until the high school combined with Miami High School in Rush, and then there were eight! The twins played softball and basketball and enjoyed participating in county competitions. The girls were active in 4H and the summer months were spent sewing entries for the county fair. One year both sisters won a trip to the National 4H Congress held in Chicago. Libby remembers staying awake as they rode the train from Colorado Springs, opening the window to peer out at each town as they past by all the way to Chicago! They stayed in an elegant hotel unlike any place they had ever seen, and attended many interesting programs. After an exciting week, they slept most of the way home!

Libby and Ella Louise graduated from Miami/Yoder High School in 1949 and started at CSU in Ft. Collins that fall majoring in Home Economics. During that year, wheat farmers Lowell Sonneberg from Sterling, and his buddy Don from Bennet, spotted the look alike and dressed alike twins, and without even knowing their names decided those were the girls for them. After one year Don and Ella Louise were married, and a year later Lowell and Libby tied the knot. For three years Libby and Lowell lived in Ft. Collins during the fall and winter months while he continued his education, and each spring they moved out to the their rented farm until the harvest was completed. Their first child, Dean, was born in 1952, and the next year Lowell graduated with a degree in Agriculture. Lowell was a member of the ROTC while in college, and went into active duty for two years after graduation. Stationed in England, the small family had a wonderful time exploring the country while living on base near London, then west of Oxford. Roberta was born there in 1955, and the next spring the family of four returned to the farm in Sterling. Lowell’s dad had tended the land while they were gone, and a year later, in 1957, they bought their own farm near Fleming, CO. Now farming full time, their family expanded to include Marilyn in 1959 and Greg in 1963. The children enjoyed life on the farm and learned many skills there, and each participated in 4H and athletics like their parents before them.

In 1962 the Logan County Republican Party asked Lowell to run for the State Legislature. He respectfully declined because Libby was expecting Greg, but in 1964 Governor Love appointed him to fill a vacancy in the Senate, which he accepted. When that term ended, Lowell decided to run for the House of Representatives for Logan County, but during that campaign he had a terrible accident that nearly took his life. Lowell slipped and was splashed with caustic anhydrous ammonia which seriously burned his face and lungs. Libby believes that it was his mother’s prayers and the hand of the Lord that brought him through that difficult time. His opponent announced that Lowell was in no shape to take office, so while her husband struggled to recover, Libby hit the campaign trail on his behalf. It was a time of great challenge for both of them because during his recovery, Lowell’s appendix burst as well. Since he was in Denver and not at the farm, medical assistance was close by and he beat the odds again! Despite everything, Lowell was elected to the House seat from Logan County but everyone knew that it was Libby’s efforts that won the election for him.

From 1966 until 1974, January through May, Lowell spent every week in Denver working as a tireless advocate for the Colorado farmer in the legislature. Although he was home on weekends, it was Libby who held down the fort, kept the kids in school and the farm running from day to day while he was away. When his term finished in 1974, Lowell was appointed to head the State Department of Agriculture for the next year and a half. That appointment would lead to another overseeing the southwestern United States for the Department of Agriculture. With that new position, Lowell, Libby, and Greg moved to Washington D.C. and for the next 9 ½ years Lowell served in that position. While he was at work, and once Greg was in high school, Libby became a tour guide and for 4 ½ years had a marvelous time guiding bus loads of tourists in the fall, and school groups of children in the spring, through the capital city’s monuments, museums and historical sites. In October of 1987, the Sonnenberg’s came back to Denver where Lowell returned to work in the Department of Agriculture until his retirement in 1994.

That same year Lowell’s father passed away and he took over the operation of his dad’s ranch near Sterling. He bought cattle in the spring that fattened during the summer, and each fall he sold them off. For the next eight years, until 2002, when his mother passed at the age of 102, Lowell would spend the summers helping her while Libby kept their home in Denver. After his mother’s passing, daughter Marilyn took over the day to day operation of the ranch, and Lowell was finally able to come home for good. Soon after his return however, doctors would discover that Lowell had developed Parkinson’s disease, but that didn’t stop him or Libby. Their granddaughter and her son came to live with them and for the next 4 ½ years they cared for their grandson while his mother worked. During that time their grandson did his best to help Libby care for Lowell as well. By 2007 Lowell had developed dementia, so Greg helped them sell their home and they moved into a house with a level floor plan which made it easier for Lowell to get around. The family helped make it handicapped accessible and Libby still calls it home today.

Lowell passed away on January 2, 2012. Six months later Ella Louise lost her husband, Don, to Parkinson’s as well. Although Libby’s sister lives in Sterling, they spend as much time together as possible. Oldest son Dean still farms their place near Fleming, and Marilyn continues to run the ranch while her husband drives for their cattle hauling business. Libby is blessed to have Roberta and Greg living close by and all three attend 4C’s.

Even before Lowell’s career in politics began, Libby had joined the Christian Women’s Connection, an organization devoted to reaching out to women in fellowship and bringing them to the Lord. Libby became an active member and through the years took on a leadership role that continued when they were in Washington D.C. as well as back in Denver when they returned here. Though no longer in leadership, Libby remains active in CWC to this day, and appreciates the difference they have made in the lives of so many women over the years. She has recently started a bible study in her home, enjoys church activities and doing things with her twin sister, and says that the days pass quickly – she is never bored!

Libby is so proud of her family and doesn’t know what she would have done without them. It is gratifying to her that each of them has worked hard, been successful, and loves what they do. She enjoys seeing them work together on projects and is blessed when she sees their willingness to serve and how much they love the church and each other. That can only be a tribute to their remarkable parents who spent their lives tirelessly loving and serving the Lord, each other, and their family, community, and country.