Forrest Hesselbarth

On 2 July 2008 Forrest (Woody) Deane Hesselbarth, trailbuilder and troublemaker, of Fort Collins, passed away peacefully with his wife Janet Kurman at his bedside. With his wicked good sense of humor, courage and grace Woody gallantly fought the good fight against atypical carcinoid cancer for almost 5 years. Woody was born May 13, 1949, in Kansas City MO, the eldest son of Maynard and Opal (Wells) Hesselbarth. Woody was raised with his younger brother Dennis Hesselbarth in Wichita, KS; Aurora, IL and Durango, CO. Having spent the majority of his childhood years in Durango he considered it home. Woody attributed much of his passion for the mountains- especially Wilderness and love of the outdoors- to his growing up years in Durango and many family camping adventures in the West. Woody finished his senior year of high school and graduated from Lincoln High School in Denver.  Following graduation Woody attended Metro State College in Denver and joined the Colorado Air National Guard. Prior to getting a "real job" with the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Woody worked at various ski areas including Vail and Kirkwood, CA and as a bicycle technician in Denver.  Throughout his life he was an avid alpine and Nordic skier and bicyclist.  During his years in Fort Collins, Woody was a familiar sight as he commuted on his bicycle to work at the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest (AR/P NF). Woody was a strong advocate of mass transit and bicycle travel as an alternative to commuter cars, trucks and SUVs. He was an active member of Bike Fort Collins. In 1977 he began work for the Forest Service as a seasonal recreation technician on the White River National Forest, CO and as a seasonal wilderness ranger on the Eldorado NF, CA, San Juan NF, CO; and the Payette NF and the Nez Perce NF in Idaho.  His first permanent Forest Service position was as a Wilderness Ranger and Trails Construction and Maintenance Specialist in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, Moose Creek Ranger District, Nez Perce NF, ID.  In 1996 the Forest Service published the first edition of Woody's widely used Trail Construction and Maintenance Notebook. It has been republished in 2004 and 2007 and it remains one of the Forest Service's "best selling" publications. From 1979-1983 Woody and his search dog Elisha were members of WOOF, a volunteer search and rescue unit based in the Sierra Nevadas. Woody was a longstanding member of the American Avalanche Association and a certified EMT. During his time on the Payette and Nez Perce Forests, Woody also served on the volunteer National Ski Patrol at Brundage Mountain and Little Ski Hill both near McCall, ID. On 2 September 1995 he and Janet Kurman were united in marriage beside Payette Lake in McCall, ID.  In 1983 Woody and Janet had a chance meeting at the Forest Service Clay Cup Ski Race's first Nordic event hosted by the Stanislaus NF where Janet was employed as a forester. Woody and Janet eventually reconnected through the Forest Service's internal communications system; Woody often referred to Janet has his "DG Date". In 1994 Woody and Janet's first date was a week long cross country skiing and geyser gazing trip in Yellowstone National Park. This winter trip to Yellowstone became an annual event for years and from which sprung many long-lasting and dear friendships. In 1996 Woody and Janet left Grangeville, ID and moved to San Diego, CA where Woody served as a wildland fire dispatcher for the Cleveland NF.  In 2001 they returned to Colorado, where Woody was employed by the AR/P NF as a wildland fire dispatcher. Woody thoroughly enjoyed his duties and instructed many wildland firefighters and dispatchers in several Incident Command System courses. Woody made it his goal to make his courses meaningful. He used his sense of humor and story-telling skills to ensure that important information would be easily absorbed by his students. Woody loved to read and enjoyed listening to all kinds of music. He was a huge fan of National Public Radio. Years ago Woody supported KBSU in Boise helping them locate and build a station transmitter to serve the McCall area. Locally he supported public radio stations KUNC and KWPR with his membership. Woody was respected by his colleagues for his knowledge and skills as well as his wonderful sense of humor and joy in living.  Woody was a member of the First United Methodist Church, Fort Collins. He was a lifelong Christian and he greatly appreciated and respected all faiths and views. Woody leaves behind his family and family of friends, neighbors, tribal brothers & sisters, and colleagues who will all dearly miss his laughter and quick grin. He is survived by his wife, Janet Kurman Hesselbarth, his father Maynard & his wife Charlotte Hesselbarth, Grand Junction, CO; brother Dennis & his wife Joy, Wichita, KS and beloved schipperkes Rainbo, Teddy and Guy Noir. Woody was known as Uncle Woody to Holly (Hesselbarth) & Abdel Gonzales, Tracy (Hesselbarth) & Nick Winkler, Adam Kurman Davis, and John David Kurman. Woody was also known as Uncle Woody or as a reliable playmate; hiking, skiing and boating buddy; conspirator and mentor or both to Anton Seibel, Nate Eklund, Alex Eklund, Ian Bisio, Kyle Bisio, Libby Pascucci, Luke Pascucci, Mahala Moran, Hayden Moran, Robin Weinreich and all of his cousins' children. Janet would like to extend deepest thanks to the fine and compassionate staff at Front Range Cancer Specialists and Poudre Valley Hospital oncology unit for all of the loving care given to Woody and for all of the  support and hugs over the past 5 years. A memorial service was held at Goes Funeral Care in the evening of July 4th during the fireworks. Please join us at the Race for Hope in support of carcinoid cancer research, City Park, Fort Collins, CO on 26 July.  A celebration of Woody's life will be held at 1 PM Sunday, 27 July at Rigden Farm subdivision barn at Rigden Parkway and Custer Road in Fort Collins. An open house begins at noon.  Please dress as you feel comfortable; Hawaiian shirts and/or silly hats would be considered appropriate attire.  In lieu of flowers, Woody supported many charities and causes and would be pleased if you chose to honor his memory by supporting a charity or cause that "makes a difference", locally or globally. For more information about these celebrations and to leave online tributes please visit: www.goesfuneralcare.com .