Willis McKee McFarlane

Willis M. McFarlane, 74, of Denver, died May 8, 2008. Born in Cleveland, Ohio on May 27, 1933, Will graduated from Amherst College, cum laude in economics in 1955. In 1968 McFarlane founded AIRCOA to develop and operate hotels, restaurants, and numerous other real estate projects. By 1988, AIRCOA had become the largest independent hotel and resort management company in the United States, operating 167 hotels. AIRCOA created the Clarion chain of hotels, owned and operated such hotels as the Brown Palace in Denver, Elkhorn Village in Sun Valley, Naples Bath and Tennis Club, and the Eldorado Hotel in Santa Fe. In 1990 McFarlane and several partners bought a 14, 000 acre ranch in eastern Colorado to breed and feed American bison. He formed the Denver Buffalo Company to sell and distribute buffalo meat and value-added products worldwide. He was the first chairman of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, as the organization emerged under a new and revolutionary structure. He has served on the Colorado Tourism Board; vice-chairman of Downtown Denver, Inc.; as a trustee of the Denver Symphony; a board member for the Denver Convention & Visitors Bureau; the Denver Chamber of Commerce; the Colorado Wildlife Heritage Foundation, and as a trustee of the University of Denver. In addition to his business and development interests, he enjoyed golfing, sailing, fishing, hunting, skiing, cooking, & horseback riding. Most importantly, he enjoyed the time he spent with his family, in Canada, at the ranch in Vail, or just at home cooking. Will is survived by his wife, Sue; his five children Scott (Janet), Anne (Mike) Nichols, Sara (Greg) Armstrong, Peter, & Geoff; grandchildren Courtney, Kyle, Taylor & Preston Mendel, Brian & Marissa Armstrong, & Neal McFarlane. Memorial services will be held 3:00 PM Thursday, at Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church, 1980 Dahlia St. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the Colorado Symphony (coloradosymphony.org), or the American Transplant Foundation (americantransplantfoundation.org).