Audrey Laurene Kitzman, 75, entered into rest on June 16th, 2026, at her home in Platteville. Audrey was born on November 6th, 1950, to Leo and Laurene (Burback) Sprague in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Audrey grew up on farms near Longmont and a dairy farm near Platteville. She graduated as valedictorian from Valley High School in Gilcrest, Colorado, in 1969. She then went on to a technical/trade school for financial banking in San Francisco, California, where she graduated as valedictorian. She worked at Financial Programs in Denver, Colorado, for about a year. In May 1972, she then went on to work for Public Service Company of Colorado at their Fort St. Vrain Nuclear Generating Station near Platteville. She worked there for 20 years and was their Nuclear Documents Supervisor. After Fort St. Vrain was decommissioned, Audrey worked in the corporate offices in Denver as Public Service merged into New Century Energies, which ultimately became Xcel Energy. She was the Executive Assistant at Xcel Energy and supported four people: the President of Energy Markets for Xcel, the Vice President of Colorado Resource Development, the attorney assigned to the Energy Markets Business Unit, and the Human Resources Director assigned to the Energy Markets Business Unit.

On May 5th, 1973, she married her true love, Elmer (Bink) W. Kitzman Jr. They were married 53 years and had two sons, Pete and Ben. While her sons were in high school, she kept baseball and football scores for Valley High School and made team and player statistics books for each player. She also wrote a program that helped run and document the Valley High School Wrestling Invitational Tournament. She was active in the Valley High School Booster Club and organized the Booster Club work parties to work at the Rockies and Broncos games to earn money for activities and clubs at the school. On January 31, 2005, she suffered a brain aneurysm, leaving her paralyzed on the left side and legally blind. Her beloved husband, Bink, and her beloved daughter-in-law Kate, were her caregivers.

Audrey enjoyed a good joke, taking pictures and making scrapbooks, playing cards, playing the piano, gambling, reading, genealogy, putting together puzzles, John Wayne movies, game shows, Coke, ice cream, Elvis Presley, the Denver Broncos, Colorado Rockies, Colorado Avalanche, and keeping baseball books. She was patriotic, saying the Pledge of Allegiance each morning, and loved having the American flag flying in front of their house. She was especially proud of her father (USMC), her husband (USMC), and her grandson’s (USN) service to our country. She especially loved her grandchildren. She was incredibly proud of her sons, Pete and Ben. She always said they were smart, hard-working, and good family men. Audrey said she hated being legally blind and paralyzed because she missed being creative, productive, independent, and mobile.

Audrey was preceded in death by her parents, Leo and Laurene Sprague, her brother, Larry Sprague, her sister, Vicki Sprague, her in-laws, Elmer and Martha Kitzman, and her sister-in-law, Charlene Marker. She is survived by her husband, Elmer, her son Pete, and his wife Danielle of Platteville, her son Ben, and his wife, Kate of Platteville, her granddaughters, Tayler and Kallie, her grandsons, Andrew, Adam, and Matthew, her sister-in-law Kerry Sprague of Wray, her brother Leo, and his wife Linda Sprague of Wray, her sister-in-law Francis, and her husband Jerry Roth, of Fort Collins, her brother-in-law Jim Marker, of Loveland as well as many nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews.

A small graveside service will be held for family only. Audrey will be laid to rest beside her parents at the Foothills Gardens of Memory in Longmont. Her celebration of life will be held July 11th, starting at noon at the Kitzman residence in Platteville. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to the LaSalle Fire Department.