Build Allison's Barn: A Tribute to Her Love of Nature

Allison Tyson Dearmin was a woman of all things nature. She woke up for the sunrise most days, always found a way to catch a sunset, and frequently stayed up past midnight to see the stars. She loved being outside walking the dogs, befriending the “wild” horses on the family ranch where she and my dad lived, along with the motherless calves she raised to be mama cows themselves. Her camera was always within arms reach to capture all of the beautiful moments that made up her life. She shared her passion for beauty through her awe-inspiring photography.

My mom and I spent much of my life sharing the outdoors. She taught me how to love and appreciate nature, from the large expanses viewed from Colorado’s 14ers, to miniature wildflowers, butterflies, and snowflakes. She had a knack for spotting well camouflaged animals and knowing where many of them hung out.

This past year, after 6 months of seeing various doctors who were unsure what the masses were that were causing the pain in my mom’s lung, she was diagnosed with stage 4 sarcoma cancer within her lung lining. She finally began chemo in July. Even though it took extraordinary strength to continue her outdoor adventures, she fought through the pain as often as possible, to feed her horses, visit her heifers and catch a sunrise, sunset, or rainbow. Finally, on an RV trip with my dad to New Mexico, the pain became unbearable and her strength was lost. Within the next month, on Thanksgiving morning, the cancer took her life. Our family has been heart-broken to lose her so young, at 56.

My mom’s dream was to build a barn on my family’s ranch in order to provide a safe space for her growing herd of untamed horses that lived on the ranch and for the calves who lost their mothers. Since ‘22, she had nurtured all the new-borns “22”, Rowdy, Lucy, Lucky, Eleven, and Baby Toots, and the calves, Daisy, Uno and Deuce. She truly believed that by giving love, the animals would return it. My mom looked forward to riding those “wild” horses. Had she not gotten sick, I think this year, ‘24, would have been the year she would have ridden one.

Many friends and admirers of her photography have reached out and wanted to honor her in some way.

Though my mom was never able to ride those “wild” horses, my family has collectively agreed that we would like to build a barn in my mom’s honor, as we also plan to spread her ashes on the same land where the barn would stand. In lieu of flowers or other gifts, we thought contributions toward building a barn would be the most meaningful way to honor Mom’s life.