Former Grand County resident Eloise Ann Golden was honored posthumously last weekend at an Olave Baden-Powell Society (OB-PS) event for the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. Golden passed away May 2, 2015 at the age of 57 due to complications following a heart surgery.

Golden was added to the OB-PS Roll of Honor for 2017 in recognition of her 50-year relationship with the Girl Scouts.

She started scouts at a young age, and participated in the organization all over the world.

“Since I was in the Navy, she did it all over the world,” said Golden’s father, Carl Montoya, a retired Master Chief Petty Officer with the US Navy. “I think she started in Illinois. Then we went to Guam and the Philippines. I took my whole family with me.”

During her time in the scouts Golden would travel around the world, meeting with girls from over 50 nations. Golden worked with Gold Award winning scouts, the equivalent to being awarded an Eagle Scout. She also led a Girl Scout troop is Grand Lake.

After graduating high school in England, Golden moved to Colorado where she earned a degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Colorado School of Mines. She began her career as a metallurgist in Arizona before becoming a metallurgical engineer for 19 years in Arizona, Alaska and Nevada.

“She became an engineer in 1979 when there were very few women in the field,” said Montoya. “It was mostly men, so she ran into a wall. These old engineers thought she was just some high school girl coming in. But she took the same classes they had, so she just had to prove that she could do what they did.”

While in Grand Lake Golden was the owner of The Chuckhole Cafe, before moving to Fresno, Calif., in 2006. She married Dr. Patrick Golden and became the manager for his medical practice.

Golden was also honored earlier this year by Ask The Doctor, a website founded by Golden wherein patients can send questions to doctors, and doctors then answer questions and anonymously publish the results to create a library of doctor created knowledge.

Ask The Doctor announced they are pledging a one million dollar student scholarship for future doctors in Golden’s name.

Golden was a devout Catholic and a talented musician who often played in her church.

“She learned how to play guitar in Guam, and since then she’s done it everywhere we went,” said Montoya. “She learned to play well enough she started playing in our church. In fact she was the leader of our music right here in our church here in town. She was a really talented person.”