Paul Dayton Kilburn

Paul Kilburn was born in Hibbing, Minnesota on June 28, 1929. He grew up in Elgin, Illinois, graduated from Elgin High School and Principia College. After college, he served two years in the U.S. Army. Paul’s love of nature ultimately led him to obtain a PhD in botany and conservation from the University of Michigan in 1957. His professional careers included teaching botany, plant ecology, and environmental studies at both California State University in Northridge, California and Principia College in Elsah, Illinois. He was well-loved by his students, and his love of plants resulted in many scientific publications. After 12 years of teaching, he moved to Colorado and became an environmental consultant. After a decade of consulting, he started and ran a successful, family-owned commercial landscaping business until he retired. His strong interest in the environment, particularly plants, allowed him to become a leader and environmental activist in Jefferson County, Colorado. As the president of the Jefferson County Nature Association (JCNA), he and fellow members successfully advocated for maintaining the natural vegetation along Ralston Creek and northeast North Table Mountain. His final project for JCNA involved picking local, native grass seeds for revegetation of specific areas of Rocky Flats. His knowledge of Colorado native prairie grasses and his ability to work with local volunteer groups contributed to the success of this project. He was also co-founder of the North Jeffco Area Group (NJAG), a discussion forum for the conservation of lands in and around Rocky Flats. Paul had varied interests. He was an avid coin collector, served as general of the Colorado Chapter of the Mayflower Society, and was a member of the Colorado Native Plant Society and The Nature Conservancy. He spent many years researching family genealogy and wrote several books about family history. Paul loved tennis, skiing and golf. In later years he and Lynn traveled extensively, played bridge and enjoyed watching their grandchildren grow up. If interested, donations can be made to two of Paul’s favorite organizations - PLAN Jeffco, https://planjeffco.org or the Colorado Native Plant Society, https://conps.org/ A celebration of life will be held at a later date, please check back often for time and location updates.