John William Laverty

John William Laverty February 2, 1926 to April 9, 2012 John was born in Denver to Roswell and Helen Laverty. Roswell was a city council member in Denver and owned a pharmacy and drug store in Five Points where John learned how to serve customers and collect rare coins. His mom bought, remodeled and sold houses and was the security lady for the Denver Dry Goods. His birthday was always easy to remember as it coincided with Groundhog's day, February 2nd. After graduating from East High School in 1944 John served the following two years in the Navy as a Seabee, building airports on the island of Guam. His father attended DU, he attended the University of Denver on the GI Bill and his daughter received a scholarship at DU. As member of Kappa Sigma fraternity and continued his membership and involvement with this great group of men. John married Rosemary Witherow in 1951, whom he met at Winter Park Ski Area. They raised five daughters as he fondly called us: R, M, D, A and T. • Roslyne is married to Brad Stevens living in Ohio • Marilyn is married to Robert Birney living in Salida • Denise Claire is married to Tony Peters living in Paonia • Annette is married to Warren Kesselring living in Breckenridge • Theresa also lives in Breckenridge He has five grand children: Brooke Ellen Stevens (England), Liette Docia (Tim) Flenner (Ohio), Wade Joseph Stevens (Colorado Springs), Kyle William Stevens (Ohio) and Liam John Laverty (Breckenridge). Liam who is now 8 years old, looks so much like his grandfather that we have often studied their photos side by side. Brooke is the family the globe trotter. She has been living in New York City working for Forbes and The New York times and currently studying in England and runs marathons all over the world. Wade is a pilot. Kyle is an accountant working for Designer Warehouse Shoes (DSW) and Liette is a nurse. This kiss at Liette's wedding was a joy for him as she is his ""first"" granddaughter to get married. Dad jumped in and helped on Roslyn and Brad's Ohio farm with fence mending, swing sets, brush piles and the hay. He really enjoyed his grandkids and was jealous that Brad's dad lived so close to their grandkids. He taught us all landscaping as we all worked on the lawn and garden on the acre on Quincy Avenue. He and Rosemary prioritized time to attend all the Ohio grandkids' graduations from both high school and college. John has two great grand children, Addison Jane and Graham Arthur Flenner who live in Ohio. Graham was born Good Friday, 3 days before John passed away. Dad spoke to us about his new great grandson and laughed when he learned of Addie's escapades. He told Claire he wanted to take a trip east this summer to see the great grand kids. Liette and Tim wanted to come to Colorado soon to visit and introduce their young family and stay the cabin in Estes Park – the special place our great grandfather purchased and is still in the family – where we all have such fond memories of vacations and family reunions. Liam likes to played cards and had a game with John just a week ago. Dad lit up every time his grandson Wade popped in, which was almost weekly. Dad led us girls (that's us daughters) up Twin Sisters one summer in Rocky Mountain National Park which was our family's first ""big hiding expedition."" He introduced us to the ranger who lived in the fire lookout. Dad inspired us all to love the mountains and hiking. John built his home on West Quincy buying the land from the local farmer. He was one of the early investors in Pinehurst Country Club – when it was just a concept on paper. His sharp investment allowed the Laverty family to have a life time free membership and enjoy swimming, golf and tennis plus many delicious holiday brunches. John and Rosemary raised their family as Catholics in Holy Name Parish. He instilled by example values of commitment, honesty, family, laughter, hard work, persistence, loyalty and discipline (we hated that discipline part when we were young, but it pays off now). John worked in the insurance business as a claims adjuster. After he got his girls through college, he followed his dream and opened his own property and casualty insurance agency in Englewood, An Insurance Service. His clients always talked about his expertise and help with claims – they really counted on his ability to handle the details and the settlements when then had an accident, fire, flood or theft. John threw a surprise birthday party for Rosemary, at Pinehurst for her 75th birthday party. He was so delighted to collaborate and pull that off without her knowledge. When Rosemary and John celebrated their 60th anniversary, they invited their daughters and their husbands on a cruise to the Panama Canal in the fall of 2011, but at the last minute his state of mind and health didn't allow him to be on the vacation. Friends and relatives remember John's smile and dry wit. They said he was easy going and simply knew everyone – and could get ""good deals"" for them. As an enchanting story teller, we enjoyed hearing about the time he caught a group of thieves that broke into his house when his grand dad was sleeping and his parents were out of town. They stole his mom's silver and his coin collection wrapping it with the blanket on the bed. He recounted how he hid under the bed where they piled the loot and was able to identify the culprits by the color of their socks. He never got his coin collection back, but continued his interest in coins by helping his grandsons build their collections. Dad told us wild stories (just lately) of his college days and visiting the Coors brewery in Golden Colorado. His mind was sharp regarding details in the past and he actually crossed the border to Mexico as a kid and had friends come get him and take him back to the states. When Dad was in a rodeo as a kid and was knocked off his horse and had to tell his mother his new clothes were full of mud. We were amazed at the things he pulled off – like skiing Loveland Pass. Dad drove a Model A Ford to shuttle his friend's s back up the mountain – that was when gas was much cheaper than a lift ticket. John taught all his daughters to ski and we are so grateful to enjoy the best snow skiing in the world, right here in Colorado. Dad had relatives in San Francisco and he was visiting one summer and had an amazing opportunity to be at the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge – he walked the bridge with his cousins before cars were allowed. Both he and Rosemary enjoyed travelling and playing golf and made wonderful long term friends in Denver and Phoenix, where they were ""snow birds"" playing golf and traveling in the dessert. Kyle or Annette or Ros offered to drive them to Phoenix and really enjoyed the road trips to Phoenix and the golf with Dad and Mom when they arrived. The girls especially liked the photos from their golf group – one time all the men dressed up as hula dancers and we could see Dad had a great sense of humor and looked good in coconuts and a grass skirt. We all will miss Dad. He was such a wonderful man, a good father and an easy going guy. He lived a full life and we loved him. Visitation will be Thursday, April 12, 2012 , 5:00pm-7:00pm at Horan & McConaty Family Chapel, 3101 South Wadsworth Boulevard, Lakewood, Colorado 80227 Funeral Mass will be Friday, April 13, 2012, 10:30am at Saint Jude Catholic Church, 9405 West Florida Avenue, Lakewood, Colorado 80232. Interment to follow at Longmont Mountain View Cemetery, 620 11th Avenue, Longmont, Colorado 80501. Donations suggested to Little Sisters of the Poor, 3629 West 29th Avenue, Denver, Colorado 80211. Please share your memories of John and condolences with his family by selecting the ""Sign Guestbook"" link below.