An 89-year-old woman died Tuesday of inhaling smoke during a recent fire at an 11-story senior living complex in southwest Colorado Springs.

Darlyne Justesen had been hospitalized since the May 24 blaze at Regency Tower Apartments, 921 Green Star Drive, said grandson Karl Michael Roe.

Doctors told her they could tend to her, but recovery would be “tough,” Roe said. Justesen, who had lived on the 10th floor for about 10 years, refused treatment.

“She knew it was her time,” said Roe, who lives in Arizona.

Justesen was one of two people hospitalized for smoke inhalation, the Fire Department said. Four others were treated on site. A cat died in the fire.

The four-alarm blaze started in the hall closet between the living space and bedrooms on the 10th floor. But after “an extensive physical evidence investigation” and witness interviews, investigators couldn’t determine the cause.

“There is no evidence or reason to believe that the fire was the result of suspicious circumstances,” the Fire Department said.

Fire spokesman Brian Vaughan declined to elaborate on why investigators walked away empty-handed.

Most of the damage was to the upper two floors, but no residents were allowed back in for nearly a week while safety inspections were conducted.

Residents of floors one to nine were cleared to return about 11:45 a.m. Thursday. The Fire Department can’t let residents of floors 10 and 11 return until it has a licensed design professional evaluate the damage and determine if a permit is needed for work on those floors..

Justesen’s family has recovered only her purse and fire box, said her son-in-law, Donald Stevens. His late wife, Kathlyeen, was Justesen’s closest family member before Kathlyeen died seven years ago.

“Despite some of the differences with her mother, (Kathlyeen) put them aside and was caring,” Stevens said.

Roe said his mother and grandmother traveled the world together, from London to Australia and Singapore. When Kathlyeen died, Justesen was less interested in leaving home.

“It was life-changing for her,” he said. “They were very close.”

What did draw her out of the high-rise was her volunteer work at the Cheyenne Mountain Library, every day for many years. She recently cut her stint to once a week.

“She was enthusiastic about doing that. It gave her something to do,” said Stevens. “She had a strong sense of responsibility — being ready and getting there on her own.”

Before retiring and moving to Colorado Springs, Justesen worked in a fire department near St. Petersburg, Fla. She was the communications coordinator for a local department for more than 20 years, Roe said, receiving a commendation medal for her service.

Growing up, Roe said, he always spent Christmases and summers at Justesen’s house in Florida. “She was grandma, just so awesome. A wonderful, wonderful human.”

Darlyne Justesen, 89, died after inhaling too much smoke from a fire that broke out down the hall from her unit in the Regency Tower Apartments.

courtesy of Karl Michael Roe