Victor Esch

Victor H. Esch was born in Pigeon, Michigan, Aug 31, 1930, to Henry D. and Barbara (Maust) Esch. He was married to Carolyn Weaver in Goshen, Indiana on August 14, 1955. She preceded him in death on October 25, 2001. He is survived by two children, Linda Bontrager and Rodney Esch, married to Cindy (Patzell) Esch. There are five grandchildren-Bryan Bontrager, Eric Bontrager, Adam Esch, Allie (Esch) Vogels, and Amy (Esch) Huston, and four great grandchildren-Emma, Madalyn, Levi and Avery Bontrager.

He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Goshen College and began his career in Hospital Administration at Rocky Ford Pioneer Memorial Hospital in Rocky Ford, Colorado. In 1966, he attended the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia, receiving his master’s degree in Hospital Administration. In 1968, his career path led to Denver, Colorado where he worked for the State of Colorado licensing hospitals and nursing homes. Finally, he held healthcare administration positions within Health and Human Services, retiring in 1994.

A resident of Arvada, Colorado for 46 years, he enjoyed the great outdoors-hiking, biking, adventuring in state parks, and skiing, making it his goal to ski every ski area in Colorado. When he stopped skiing at the age of 83, he was missing only two of them.

Both Vic and Carolyn were very involved in their church and were long-time members at Glennon Heights Mennonite Church, then First Mennonite Church in Denver. He and Carolyn loved music and were avid singers. He was involved in the Mennonite Board of Missions, holding various board positions, including Frontier Boys Village in Colorado Springs. He maintained a deep interest in MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates), and he traveled to South America to see their operations there.

His life was filled with love of the water and boats, spending his retirement years on Lake Powell, Lake Granby and truly any available water source. One of his dreams was to complete the “Great Circle”, a continuous journey on the intercoastal waterways, lakes and river systems in the eastern half of the country. Beginning in 2005, he completed the portion near Cape May in New Jersey, to Jacksonville, Florida.

It was a dream of Vic and Carolyn to build a home together in the mountains at Lake Granby where they planned to spend their retirement years. They combined the love he had of the water, and the love she had of the mountains, and they called their home “Timeless”. He loved it there.

Our entire family will deeply miss his kind and gentle spirit, and the hint of adventure that twinkled in his eyes, and so much more than we can say.

A memorial service will take place on Saturday, October 2, 2:00 p.m. at First Mennonite Church of Denver, 430 W. 9th Ave, Denver. Donations can be made to MEDA at www.meda.org in his name.

Please share your memories of Vic and condolences with his family by signing the tribute wall.