Besides business owner (Swirly Cow Frozen Yogurt in Falcon), Pam Page wears many hats: wife, mother, Cub Scout den leader and PTA member.Although born in Birmingham, Alabama, Page and her family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, when she was 3 years old. Pageís dad was an engineer in the concrete business for more than 60 years; while her mom stayed at home with the children. Two years later, they moved to Littleton, Colorado, where Page would spend the next 20 years.In 1986, Page graduated from Heritage High School in Littleton. Because of a near-fatal ATV accident the summer after her graduation, Page decided to take a year off before going to college. The following summer, she enrolled at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. She graduated with a bachelorís degree in elementary education, but chose to pursue other options. ìMy whole life Iíve been a jack of all trades,î she said. ìBut just because of situations in my life, I had never been in one place long enough to pursue a career in education.îIn 1994, Page moved to Tucson, Arizona, where she met her husband, Gary. The two met through friends and began dating in 1997. In April of that same year, Page was diagnosed with stage IV cervical cancer. In the two weeks between Pageís diagnosis and surgery to remove the cancer, Gary proposed to her. ìAfter dinner as we were walking back to our hotel room, he proposed to me under the stars,î she said. ìThe reason he was doing it then is because it didnít matter (to him) the outcome of that surgery.î Two months later, the couple eloped. They married overlooking Lake Tahoe in California and spent a ìpractically freeî European honeymoon, Page said. At the time of their wedding, Gary worked as a flight engineer for a Saudi Arabian sheikh who owned a home in Portland, Oregon, and took regular trips throughout Europe. As a result of the sheikhís travel plans, Page and her husband were able to visit Wales, France and Spain.Prior to their marriage, the couple had moved to Reno, Nevada. In 1998, Gary Page became a pilot for Samco Aircraft Maintenance, and Page worked in the reservations department for America West Airlines in Reno. Because of Pageís cervical cancer, a fertility specialist said they should start a family sooner than later. ìCervical cancer is a high reoccurring cancer,î she said. ìSo they told me to have kids as soon as possible, and then probably have a hysterectomy.î In 2000, Page experienced a ruptured ectopic pregnancy; and, a second pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage. The following year, the couple tried intrauterine insemination and found success. On June 26, 2002, the Pages welcomed their first son, Preston.Gary Page returned to the military and did a prior service enlistment with the United States Air Force. His new position as a flight engineer required that he complete nine months of training in Oklahoma before being stationed at Travis Air Force Base in California.They also welcomed a second son, Grant, in March 2004. ìWe always like to refer to our boys as ëbuy one get one free,íî Page said. ìPreston cost us a lot of time and money, and then we got a freebie out of it.îIn the fall of 2004 the Pages moved back to Colorado. ìColorado has always been home to me,î she said. ìIt is where I spent most of my time.î The family looked at Denver and Littleton, but decided the areas were too busy. ìWe were looking down in the Springs area and that is how we found Falcon,î Page said.In May 2005, the Page family moved to Meridian Ranch in Falcon. While her husband worked as a cargo pilot, Page stayed home with the kids and became involved in her church, the YMCA and the Cub Scouts. She has also been involved with the PTA since 2007. ìI think I have held every position there is, and some of them overlapped,î she said. Currently, she is also busy home schooling Grant.In 2011, Grant was diagnosed with Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, which occurs when the blood supply is temporarily interrupted to the ball part (femoral head) of the hip joint. After surgery and several months of physical therapy on his left leg, Grant recovered but the disease returned, this time affecting his right leg. Grant is in a wheelchair, and will probably have to remain there for the next couple of years, Page said. ìHe has to stay off the leg so it does not slip out of the socket as it dies off,î she said. ìIf it stays lined up, then he can hopefully avoid surgery.îIn 2012, Gary Page was laid off and could not find a job in his field. ìMany years ago, Gary and I had talked about how much fun it would be to open an ice cream shop,î Page said. ìThere was a little ice cream shop in the town that he grew up in, and we always thought that would be so much fun.î They began researching their dream of owning an ice cream shop; and, in October 2012, the Pages opened Swirly Cow Frozen Yogurt in Falcon. The Pages wanted their business to be part of the Falcon community. ìWe have a huge sense of community, and we wanted to give back,î she said. ìWe didnít pick a place based on how much money we would make; we picked it based on what the community needed.îPage credits her dog for the Swirly Cow name. ìMy dog happens to have pug in her, and her tail is curly,î she said. ìI was looking at her tail and thought, ëswirlyí ó Swirly Cow.íîWhether it is the name or the ice cream or both, the business has been successful. In August 2014, the Pages opened another Swirly Cow near Fort Carson.And they have realized their goal of giving back to the community, with the Swirly Cow milk bottle fund. Each month, the Pages collect their tips or the change from customers and award that money to a local charity. Over the last two years, they have donated more than $4,500, Page said. ìIt is a nice way for everyone to give a little bit. It really adds up.îPage would like to become a world traveler again, with dreams of visiting Germany or Italy. However, Falcon is home. ìI canít ever imagine leaving Falcon,î she said. ìThis is it for us.î
