Roger William von Holdt

Dad was a life-long resident of west Denver, born to Evelyn (Wilmore, born in Wheat Ridge in 1899) and Waldo von Holdt (born in west Denver in 1892) at St. Anthony's Hospital on August 29, 1929. The family lived at 2930 Raleigh Street until 1941, when they moved to Wheat Ridge where many members of his extended family lived. As a teenager, he worked summers in the flower and vegetable fields of farmers in the area. That, and a summer at the Armour Packing Company following graduation from Wheat Ridge High School in 1947, convinced him that farming and meat packing were not for him. However, he retained a life-long love of growing things and prided himself on a perfectly manicured yard and gardens full of the dahlias his grandfather W.W. Wilmore had nurtured. Dad majored in mechanical engineering at Colorado A & M (now Colorado State University) and participated in ROTC and Sigma Chi fraternity. The U.S. Air Force sent him east to MIT to study meteorology, then flew him to Korea for a year in 1953. Upon his return to the U.S., he was stationed at Geiger Field in Spokane, Washington. A friend set him up on a blind date with LaVarr Erickson, a nursing student. In May three weeks later they were engaged, and their wedding took place in September 1954 in Genesee, Idaho. A year later, Dad was discharged from the Air Force, daughter Laura was born, and our parents moved to Denver, where Dad had chosen to go to work with his father in the family painting contracting business. The arrival of son Dean completed the family in 1956. The family joined Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church in 1958, spent some years at American Lutheran Memorial Church, then returned to Holy Shepherd where they continue as active members. Dad was active in the Masonic lodge in his early married life, and enjoyed many friendships there. Mom and Dad bought a house in Lakewood and Dad began painting apprenticeship school in 1955 while working for his father at the W. Von Holdt Company. Finishing school in 1960, Dad soon after took over management of the company. He was very active in the Painting and Decorating Contractors of America and he and Mom traveled to many conventions around the country, forming warm friendships with their competitors that lasted throughout his life. The company became highly respected in the construction community for fair treatment of employees and integrity on the job. Von Holdt Company painted the Keystone Lodge when it was built in 1974, prompting Dad and Mom to purchase the first of two condominiums they owned there. Dad loved to ski, having learned the sport as a young man and taught both of us to follow him on the slopes. We made many trips to Keystone, with Dad not giving up his skis until his 60's. Traveling and exploring were always high on Dad's list. He and Mom took us all over the Western U.S. by car and plane, especially loving jeep trips in the Colorado Rockies and Utah desert, as well as travels back to northern Idaho and Washington. We often camped in the pop-up trailer Dad had gutted, rebuilt to suit him, and painted to match the jeep. In Dean's high school years, Dad and Dean bought motorcycles and took many manly trips into the mountains together. After the children left home, he and Mom traveled the world, usually with some of their many friends. Dad adored his children and grandchildren and showered all of us with the fruits of his formidable artistic skills. He loved to build models from wood, crafting perfectly scaled airplanes, wooden trucks, rigged sailing ships, dollhouses (five of them), and furnishings for the houses. In his later years, he focused on building miniature grand pianos, complete with moving keys and opening lids. He made many of his own jigs and tools to form the parts. Dad was a fine draftsman, carefully drawing plans to scale for all of his creations. Dad lived a life of great integrity, teaching us to live lives of honesty and truthfulness, and always to do our best in every situation. He showed us faith in action, taking us to church and Sunday school every week, and always gave thoughtful consideration to spiritual questions. He is survived by his loving wife LaVarr; daughter Laura and her husband Chandler; their children Anna, Rachel and Alex; son Dean and his wife Laurie; their children, Kyle (wife Tonya, daughters Jordyn and Haley), Keri (husband Jon-Michael), and Kody. Also surviving are his sister Jacqueline Chinn (husband Bill); LaVarr's sister Beverly Jacobs, brother Dewaine Erickson (wife Billie), and sister-in-law Kay Erickson; numerous nieces and nephews; an aunt and uncle; and a host of loving friends. With all our love, Laura and Dean