Jon Frederick Lutz

Jon Frederick Lutz, 45, of Commerce City died suddenly in his sleep while on business in Changzhou, China on January 28th, 2015. Jon was born May 20, 1969 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was a graduate of Pomona High School in Arvada where he became an accomplished French hornist, later performing routinely with the Denver Philharmonic Orchestra for several years. He was a graduate of the University of Colorado with a BS in Electrical Engineering, followed by his Masters. During his collegiate years, Jon held part time positions with Micro Motion and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of Boulder. Following completion of his graduate studies in 1993, Jon was initially employed as Motor Development Engineer by Unique Mobility of Golden, Colorado, later renamed UQM Technologies, Longmont. UQM is a developer and manufacturer of power-dense, high-efficiency electric motors, generators and power electronic controllers for the commercial truck, bus, automotive, marine, military and industrial markets. He later held positions as Motor Group Manager and Motor Magnetics Design Engineer, Director of Engineering from 2007 to 2011, and finally Vice President of Technology on April 1, 2011. He developed several patents for UQM, most recently a unique rotor design that enables the use of less costly and more readily available non-rare earth magnets vs. rare earth material. In addition to his work with UQM, he regularly volunteered with the Birds of Prey Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the rehabilitation and release of injured and orphaned raptors, and was an avid photographer and raptor ornithologist. Jon is survived by his wife of 21 years, Andrea (Neiheisel) Lutz, parents Jim & Kay Lutz of Loveland, sister Maureen Lutz and brother in law Jim Haneberg of Fort Collins, mother and father in law Vana & Gene Neiheisel of Arvada, sister and brother in law Kevin & Jana (Neiheisel) Roush of Arvada, and numerous uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, and nephews. A memorial service will be held Monday, 1:00 PM, February 09 at Horan & McConaty Family Chapel, 9998 Grant Street, Thornton. Light reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, please donate to Birds of Prey Foundation, 2290 S. 104th St, Broomfield, Colorado 80020 http://www.birds –of-prey.org