Jack Darwin West

Jack Darwin West, 82, passed away on Sunday, August 19, 2018. He was born on September 22, 1935 in Hobart, Oklahoma to J.D. and Edith West. His parents moved the family to New Mexico where they were sharecroppers when Jack was young. He spent his childhood in Porter and Bard, New Mexico. After high school, Jack joined the armed forces and was stationed in Fort Lewis, Washington in 1953 as a combat construction specialist. In 1957 he headed to Pueblo, Colorado to attend Telegraphy School in preparation for a job with the railroad. Unfortunately, the railroad stopped using the telegraph around that time. Fortunately, however, the school placed him across the street from where his future wife and love of his life worked. He would watch for her, and because he couldn’t whistle, he had a friend of his hide and whistle while he waved at her. She did her best to ignore him, but 3 months after they met, Jack and Dorothy eloped and were married in Raton, New Mexico on June 1, 1957. Jack’s love was teaching and more importantly helping his students learn and start careers. He believed he could help all students succeed. He started his teaching career at the Colorado State Reformatory in Buena Vista as a machining technology instructor. He also taught at Longmont High school before becoming an Instructor at Community College of Denver (later renamed Front Range Community College, Westminster). 1n 1982, he was awarded Master Teacher of the Year. He developed a robust program teaching computer aided machining and design, creating instructional videos and lab manuals for individualized instruction. He developed relationships with many industries teaching courses at IBM, Ragsdale Manufacturing, Ball Aerospace, Samsonite, Micro Motion, HPS Inc, Coors Electronics, Golden Technologies, Fisher imaging, AT&T, Cobe labs and more. He served as department chair from 1989-1995. Jack made a difference in people’s lives. It was not unusual for past students from the reformatory or Front Range to stop by or send cards to let him know how he changed their lives. Jack was an avid bowler, with a 240 average. Jack and his wife Dot helped run the Northglenn Elks Club bowling league for several years, planning tournaments and bowling bus trips across the state. In addition to bowling Jack loved camping, fishing, basketball, playing cribbage and cards, golf, country and western music, dancing, and spending time with his family and friends. He spent his retirement years traveling with Dot his wife of 60 years and “snow birding” with friends along the Colorado River in Parker Arizona. With Jacks passing the world will have a little less love, laughter, and dancing. Jack joins the love-of-his-life and wife of 60 years in heaven. He leaves behind his daughters Gaylene and Tammy, his son-in-law Mike, granddaughter Daphne, and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. We picture Jack and Dorothy holding hands and dancing in heaven reuniting with the many good friends and cherished family members they lost over the years, laughing, and smiling down on all of us. In lieu of flowers, if you are interested in making a memorial gift there is information below: To make a memorial gift by mail, please make your check payable to the Colorado State University Foundation. Also include: in honor of Jack D. West and the name of the fund from the list below you wish to support. Mail your gift to: Colorado State University Foundation, P.O. Box 1870, Fort Collins, CO 80522 To make your online gift tribute please visit https://advancing.colostate.edu/FIRSTGENERATION. Select the "Include Tribute" (in honor of Jack D. West) drop down in the "My Info" section of the online giving form and select one of the two funds below: First Generation Award Legacy Scholarship 75773 The First Generation Award Legacy Scholarship has been established to increase the number of First Generation Awards available to CSU students. The First Generation Award is a substantial scholarship that was established in 1984 with the intent to support students whose parents neither earned a bachelor’s nor graduate degree. Since its establishment, one in four CSU students are first generation, and over 1,400 First Generation Award recipients have graduated from CSU. Barb Musslewhite First Generation Scholarship Endowment 13344Barb Musslewhite worked at Colorado State University for 25 years as an advocate for first generation student award scholars, based on her passion in encouraging the access and success of underrepresented students. She focused on each student’s strengths and potential, always connecting them to campus resources, and built a community among the scholars and with faculty and staff across campus. The purpose of the Fund is to provide scholarships to benefit first generation undergraduate students at Colorado State University Service: 11:00 AM, Thursday, September 6, 2018 Fort Logan National Cemetery Staging Area "A"