Clyde Elmer Jones

Clyde Elmer Jones passed away September 11, 2016, at the age of 89, after a full and incredible life. He squeezed a 100 years' worth of experiences into 89. Clyde was preceded in death by his wife, Carol and his son in law Mark. He is survived by his 3 children Cary (Cindy) Jones, Wendy (David) Verdun, Karen Gage, and 6 grandchildren Chris and Laura (Heinz) Jones, Alex and Taylor Verdun, Riley and Haley Gage, and one sister, Carolyn Demshki. Clyde was born in Maywood Illinois but spent most of his adult life in Colorado. As a youngster he spent summers wherever his Engineer father was working, usually in a cabin on a lake, which turned into him working at summer camps later in Canada. He went to college at both Beloit, Wisconsin, and University of Colorado, where he earned a degree in Chemistry. At that point his love for the outdoors was cemented, and he settled in Colorado where he started working at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal for Shell as a chemist. He met his wife Carol in the Rocky Mountain Ramblers ski club and they were married in 1951. He then worked for the state as chief chemist for the Colorado Department of Agriculture for over 30 years. Clyde and Carol both loved outdoor activities and they spent the next 4 years kayaking, skiing, camping, hiking, and rock climbing. They both helped organize the Colorado Whitewater Association and Clyde was the winner of the 1950 Fibark downriver race from Salida to the Royal Gorge. He was in fact the only finisher that year, and was the first inductee into the FIBARK hall of fame in 2008. Clyde also started designing and building fiberglass kayaks with his buddies. By this time Clyde and Carol and their friends started having children but didn't slow down in their outdoor adventures. Clyde was a ski patroller at Loveland Ski Area for 20 years and became an avalanche and mountaineering instructor. He took those leadership skills to the Colorado Mountain Club where he led hikes and taught avalanche courses along with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center for many years. When he slowed down with that, he volunteered at REI at the Outdoor Recreation Information Center and continued to man the desk every Sunday until a few weeks before he passed, sharing his vast knowledge of the state and all it has to offer. Clyde and Carol were big conservationists and were founding members of the Colorado Open Space Council in the 60's. Clyde also volunteered with Colorado Wildlife doing things like counting bats late at night, to see where they needed to put bat friendly closures on old mines. Clyde also was a caver, helping map out some of Colorado's caves. Clyde was a boy scout leader for many years for his son Cary's troop. One of Clyde's biggest passions was the cabin he built with his family starting in 1965. When Clyde finished one thing, he moved on to something else, always hungry for new knowledge and challenges. Over the years he took fencing, painting, sculpting, welding, geology, and added hobbies like building model trains or battleships. He even took flying lessons until they deemed him too old to fly (at 80 years old.) He was always reading and his children called him an encyclopedia because he could answer or figure out how to do just about anything. He was quite a history buff and enjoyed traveling all over the country and world. Clyde's children will be forever grateful for the journey he took them on, showing them that the experience is the important part of life. He was a wonderful father, grandfather, friend, and role model, and will be missed by many. Celebration of Clyde's life – Friday November 11th, 3:00 PM, Horan and McConaty , 3101 S. Wadsworth Blvd. Memorial Donations may be made in Clyde's honor to the American Whitewater Association at PO Box 1540 / Cullowhee, NC 28723 and to Colorado Open Lands at 355 S. Teller St. Suite 210 / Lakewood, CO 80226-9900. Please feel free to leave memories of Clyde and condolences for his family by signing the guestbook below.