James E. DeLong Jr.

James (Jim) Edward DeLong Jr., age of 84, died with family by his side in Denver, CO on February 10th, 2024.

Born on December 6th, 1939, in Utica NY, Jim lived his childhood in the family home located in the Adirondack town of Old Forge, NY.

In 1957, he graduated from the Town of Webb High School in Old Forge. Jim went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, class of 1961. He later obtained his master’s degree in Economic Geology from the University of Michigan.

An avid and accomplished skier, he raced competitively in high school and later captained the Dartmouth Ski Team. As captain, he was afforded the opportunity to travel the country for competitions, skiing alongside world class athletes. Having traveled to Colorado to compete, he gained a love for the Rocky Mountains, which made his first career opportunity at Climax Molybdenum in Denver a perfect fit.

During his early years at Climax, he lived in Georgetown, CO with his then wife, Kate, before settling down to raise their family in Wheat Ridge, CO. At Climax, Jim was a part of the team that discovered the second largest Molybdenum deposit in the world, later named the Henderson Mine. In 1980, he moved the family to Reno, NV to pursue a role as Manager for the Western US District for Anaconda Minerals. It was during this stint of his career where he led a geological exploration group that uncovered a deposit yielding over a million ounces in gold. As a career Exploration Geologist, he enjoyed working outdoors “in the field” surrounded by spectacular mountains in many western states including Nevada, New Mexico, and Alaska. Late in his career he spent 4 years overseas as a consultant in the countries of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. As preparation for his role in Central Asia, he took a Russian language immersion course taught in Russia.

After retiring, he moved to Fairmont, WV to take care of his aging parents, where he became very involved in the community and thrived in the new environment. In 2021 he moved back to Denver to be close to his sons and grandchildren, where he lived across from historic City Park.

Among his many interests, Jim enjoyed skiing, hiking, cycling, traveling, gardening, card games, classical music, reading, bird watching, and attending happy hours. He had a natural ability for conversation and easily made lifelong friends everywhere he went.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his two brothers Douglas and Lawrence. Jim is survived by his two sons Douglas (Lora) and Peter (Julie) both of Denver, CO, and his grandchildren Bonnie, Kevin, Trevor, and Casper, and sister Constance Mosher of Schoharie, NY.

Mr. DeLong has chosen cremation services. Internment will be in the Riverview Cemetery, Old Forge, NY in the summer with family attending. Plans for a Springtime memorial in the Denver area will be shared in the coming weeks.