Oct. 17, 1960 – Dec. 12, 2013

BOULDER, COLO.— Memorial services for Evelyn Lee Pickett Dale, 53, of Boulder, Colo., formerly of Natchez, who died Thursday, Dec. 12, 2013, at TRU-Community Hospice Center in Louisville, Colo., after a courageous 18-year battle with breast cancer, will be from 11 to 3 p.m. Jan. 11, 2014, at Under the Sun Eatery and Taphouse Restaurant in Boulder.

Dale was born Oct. 17, 1960, in Natchez, the daughter Chuck Pickett and Joy Watson.

She grew up in the Louisiana bayou country in Bayou Vista near Morgan City, La. She attended school in Bayou Vista and Berwick and graduated from Berwick High School. She had many adventures in the bayou country.

She was a beauty queen when she was only 11 years old and was in several parades . In high school, she was a pep squad leader, softball player and school beauty. One summer she even worked several weeks out in the Gulf of Mexico on a real shrimp boat along with several of her friends. She fished the bayous with her dad and brother many times.

After graduation from high school, she moved to Boulder where she attended Colorado University (CU). Later she worked in the hi tech industry at Storage Tech, Mini Scribe and other hi tech companies.

She married the love of her life, Richard Palmer-Smith in 1990 and had one son Ryder, who will soon graduate from CU.

When she arrived in Boulder, she became a well known sportswoman. Her adventures continued as she became a high mountain hiker and climbed many Colorado 14ers. She rode and piloted a glider, rode a hot air ball0on, became a runner and mountain bike rider. She was good skier and was unbeatable at cross country skiing and snow shoeing.

In addition to all this, she was a gourmet cook. Her trademark was showing up at Ryder’s school or businesses she dealt with, parties or friend’s houses with a pan of her famous brownies.

Even after getting breast cancer 18 years ago, she still continued her outdoor activities as if she didn’t even have the disease. She never missed a beat. To defeat breast cancer, she became an expert on nutrition and exercise. She became a certified nutritionist and a certified personal trainer.

She was a familiar site running or hiking the trails of the Boulder Front Range with her little dog, Stanley. She ran the trails in and around Boulder for 36 years usually in her signature black running suit. The beautiful woman with her blond hair flying in the wind. No matter the weather, she was out on the trails.

Another of her favorite things to do was to go to concerts put on by the band “Wide Spread Panic.” She was a big fan and became friends with the band members.

She lived a dynamic and most interesting life. That Thursday morning, she left for heaven with a pan of her famous brownies.

Survivors include her husband, Richard Palmer-Smith; son, Ryder S. Dale; her mother, of Natchez; her father and step-mother, Gail, of Lafayette, La.; brother, Charles L. “Chip” Pickett III, of Lafayette, La.; uncle, David Pickett and wife, Ginger, of Plano, Texas; aunt, Mary Louise Pickett, of Minden, La.; brother-in-law, the Rev. Bryan Palmer-Smith and wife, Marie, of Indianapolis, Ind.; and a number of nieces, nephews and cousins.