Galen D. Thurman

Galen was born in a log cabin in Bonanza, Colorado on 27 June 1925. His parents moved with him to Telluride, Colorado shortly after his birth. Galen spent most of his youth in Telluride where even as a very young man, the age of approximately 12, he was quite the entrepreneur. He borrowed money from his grandfather Dan Mahoney to purchase and run a candy and popcorn concession at the local theater. He repaid the money with interest. He lived with his grandmother and grandfather in Salida while attending high school there. While still in high school he was drafted into the army during the second world war. He served in the army aircorp in Italy during the war, and was honorably discharged at the end of the war. After the war, and his return to Colorado, he took up residency in Denver, and completed his high school education at East High School in Denver. He immediately started studies at Denver University majoring in architecture and interior design. While having enough credit hours to have graduated, he never received his degree that he so richly deserved. While attending Denver University he worked as a bell hop at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Denver. He earned enough money during that time to purchase a room and board house on capitol hill in Denver. The purchase of that house led him to purchase other houses in the same block on Washington street. Ownership of these houses became his life long career, buying and trading apartment houses. He bought houses and apartment houses that were somewhat distressed, and working well into the night most of the time, he remodeled them and kept trading up to bigger and better apartment houses. At one point in his life he even owned an apartment house in San Francisco. A friend, Sam Selters, reports that when he first met Galen; Galen was living in a barn behind another home he had purchased at 1555 Washington. He had to climb a ladder to get to his bedroom which was in the hayloft of the old barn. Sam's father was so impressed with Galen that he told his son Sam to listen to Galen because he is a smart man. So Galen became Sam's Denver Dad. Sam recalls, as I do, once when a friend of Galen's and he came back to the house on Washington street they encountered burglars. The burglars had a pistol and they pulled the gun on Galen. Galen struggled with the burglar and the gun went off. Fortunately, it only grazed his head, and Galen was able to grab the gun. He tried to throw it out the window, but it bounced off the screen and fell back into the room. Galen fell on the gun and laid there and moaned until the burglars panicked and jumped out the window after opening the screen door. Believe it or not, a party was soon in progress. However, he made the front page of the Rocky Mountain News the next day with blood streaming down his face. Galen was a member of the American Legion Motorcycle Patrol. The patrol rode in parades and after the parade was over they would ride back to Galen's home and park the motorcycles in the dining room and kitchen. Then the party began with great food and drink. He met and encouraged his friend and companion Gene Rodaway in 1965 and helped Gene to buy and sell apartment houses as well. Gene met Sam Selters at that time as well and Gene and Sam have become very good friends bordering on being brothers. Galen was quite a linguist as well. He spoke English, Italian, and Spanish fluently. He also was able to speak some German and French. He loved to travel so the command of other languages proved to be a very valuable asset during those travels. Galen was a fine chef and loved to give parties. I guess that is why it was one of his last requests that his personal representative arrange for a party to celebrate his life at his Galen's expense. He had a wonderful knowledge and appreciation for Art, and has collected some very nice articles of art over the years. He also was able to arrange and decorate a home with ease, and it all came together Sam writes that Galen taught him to have an open mind, to educate myself through travel and study. Sam says he loved people, loved parties, and he was his Denver Dad, and he will miss him dearly as I will as well. Galen was a very caring and loving person who always saw the good in almost everyone he met. He was a very engaging conversationalist and thoroughly enjoyed his friends. Hosting frequent parties his social interaction with friends was a high light in his life. He enjoyed seeing his friends enjoying themselves. As recently as 17 March 2006 he hosted a wonderful party on St. Pats day at what was to have been his new home at 4175 East Mexico Avenue. The home on Mexico Avenue consists of four former apartments in what was a 52 unit apartment house that he purchased on 18 July 2005. It is unfortunate that he was unable to see the completed construction of that new home which was to have been his last home. Galen passed on to be with our Lord on 26 March 2006 in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he had gone to visit some friends there. He leaves a lot of friends behind who will miss him and will always remember the wonderful man who enriched their lives. We thank the Lord for having the good fortune to have known such a loving a great man.