She had to leave her latter job in order to return to Denver and care for her ailing mother.

[2] After her mother's death, she stayed in her childhood home, often being visited by other paleontologists, mammalogists and naturalists who were passing through.

Her particular interest in the members of Carnivora earned her the affectionate nickname of "The Carnivore Lady".

She was an Associate Editor of the journal Mammalian Species, published by the American Society of Mammalogists from 1995 until her death.

[2] She is best known for her work Pleistocene Mammals of North America, written in collaboration with Björn Kurtén in 1980.