John Albright

March 2, 2020

On March 2, 2020 John Albright passed peacefully from this life. His body was no match for the ALS that devastated him. John was a person who found joy in many things. He was an outdoorsman --an avid hunter and fisherman. One of his greatest pleasures was hunting antelope with friends and family on the plains of northern Colorado and southern Wyoming. He loved art, particularly that of the American Southwest, and always looked forward to trips to Santa Fe with his wife, where he loved to roam through galleries, talk to local artists, and indulge himself in the local cuisine. Chili rellenos, tamales and posole were among his favorite foods. John also was an enthusiast of opera and classical music, about which he possessed extensive knowledge. John always loved animals, and found himself particularly enamored of cats after he was assigned to work with them as a volunteer at the Larimer Humane Society. At home He would walk Callie, the family cat, on a leash around the neighborhood, to the great amusement of the neighbors. People would pass by and take pictures of the two of them. The son of Arthur and Jessie Albright, John was born in 1937 in Panama where his father was employed on the Panama Canal. Growing up in the Canal Zone, he never owned a coat or saw snow until he was 18 years old and came to the States to attend college at Oklahoma State University, then known as Oklahoma A & M. He majored in history. Upon his graduation from OSU in 1959, he married his first wife, Carole, with whom he raised four children. After completing graduate work at OSU, he entered the military as an officer with the 11th Armored Cavalry that patrolled the Iron Curtain in Germany during the Cold War. At the end of his tour in Germany he returned to the States and became a museum curator at the Woolaroc Museum near Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he enjoyed working among the works of many of the greatest artists of the American West. In 1966, John was recalled to active duty and rejoined the 11th Armored Cavalry before being deployed to Viet Nam. When his tour as a soldier was over he was hired as an historian by the Office of the Chief of Military History in Washington, D.C. As a civilian, he was sent to Viet Nam three more times to train military history detachments on how to record the war. After hearing an announcement on the radio in Washington, D.C. that a portion of the National Park Service was being moved to Denver, he jumped at the opportunity and joined the NPS in 1972 and moved with them. He had a long and satisfying career with the Park Service, both in the Regional Office and the Denver Service Center where he was project manager for a number of historic preservation and park development projects in eastern states. He was also was a periodic instructor at the NPS training center at the Grand Canyon. In 1978 he began teaching an historic preservation graduate seminar at the University of Colorado in Boulder, and later at Colorado State University where he joined the faculty full time in 1992. Always wanting to be of service and make a difference in the world, John volunteered in many sectors throughout the years. He served on the Governor’s Board for Historic Preservation, The State Historical Fund Advising Committee, and the Landmark Preservation Commission in Ft. Collins. He was a volunteer at the Larimer Humane Society for six years, and for four years was the civilian member of the Animal Use and Care Committee of the National Wildlife Research Center. He is survived by Judith, his wife of 40 years, his brother, Alan and wife Maryann, his sons, Bruce and wife, Jennifer; Martin and wife Liz, and Don, and a daughter, Mary Verity and husband Bill. John is also survived by two step-children, Carolyn Landron and Stephanie Wolff and husband Chris of Denver, as well as grandchildren Rachael, Sean, Avery, Hudson, and step grandchildren Alli and Andrew. Not least, he leaves his two beloved cats, Hazel and Holly who have added humor and great joy to his life. A virtual/online memorial service will be held at 1:00 pm on June 6. Please contact Goes Funeral Care at 970-482-2221 or [email protected] for the streaming information.