Glen Geilenkirchen

Glen Gerhard Geilenkirchen, age 91, of Fort Collins, Colorado, passed away peacefully at Centre Avenue Health and Rehabilitation Facility on January 23, 2026.

Glen was born on May 28, 1934, in Lindsay, NE, to Gerald and Clara Geilenkirchen. He was baptized in the Catholic faith as an infant.

Glen was raised in a very agricultural family where he and his siblings were all heavily involved with 4H and raised several types of livestock. Glen was the Grand Champion Livestock Showman at the Colorado State Fair.

Glen attended St. Joseph's Catholic School in Fort Collins for 9 years and graduated from Fort Collins High School in 1952. After graduating from high school, he attended Colorado A&M (CSU) for 2 years. Glen enlisted in the United States Army and was stationed in Germany for 3 years. After serving in the Army, Glen attended the Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa, OK, and was trained to be an airplane mechanic. He met his first wife, Frances McNamara, in Tulsa. They moved to Fort Collins and had 3 boys, Phillip, Loren, and Evan. Frances died in 1965.

Glen worked for Ranchway Feeds in Colorado for 13 years as a livestock feed salesman. Glen married Jody Gatens-McKenna in 1967 and they had a son, Glen Jeffry.

Following the end of his second marriage, Glen moved to Lyman, NE, and started working with Hergert Milling as a livestock feed salesman. While in Lyman, Glen met Trudi Sullivan and they were married on June 9, 1979. Through this marriage, Glen gained another son, Todd. Together, Glen, Trudi, and all five of the boys managed a finishing swine operation in Lyman, NE.

Glen and Trudi moved back to Fort Collins in 1983. After moving back to Fort Collins, Glen worked for several different companies before eventually landing at Dellenbach Chevrolet. He retired from Dellenbach in 2005, but remained active by working with Conklin for many years as a Conklin Products Representative.

Glen's faith was an extremely important part of his life. He was a lifelong Catholic and a very active member at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, serving as an usher. Glen was also a member of the Knights of Columbus Council No. 1214 and became a Fourth Degree Knight in 2022.

Glen had a passion for aviation. He had his pilot's license and volunteered with the Civil Air Patrol for many years, serving as a squadron youth leader. While in the Civil Air Patrol, Glen flew in several search and rescue missions, helping search for and locate missing aircraft.

Another one of Glen's passions was the weather. Glen had his own weather station at his house and would publish his daily readings and data to the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) and to Colorado State University. He would also send out daily emails with his weather readings and measurements, and he had many friends and family who greatly looked forward to reading these weather emails every morning.

Family was very important to Glen. He loved being a husband, Dad, and grandpa. He loved spending time with his grandkids, whether it was taking them to the Poudre River and Estes Park, or to the grocery store to get a bunch of candy and sweets, and then trying to sneak them into the house, hoping grandma wouldn't notice. Glen taught his grandchildren many important life skills, such as having a great work ethic, responsibility, patience, and how to properly close a car door.

Glen loved the outdoors and traveling. Glen and Trudi traveled all over the country with their camper trailer for many years, visiting family, various landmarks, and many, many airplane museums.

Glen is survived by his loving wife of 46 years, Trudi Geilenkirchen, and his sons Loren (Nancy) Geilen of Castle Rock, Evan (Jane) Geilenkirchen of McCook, NE, Todd (Becky) Sullivan of Fort Collins, and Glen Jeffry Geilenkirchen of Fort Collins, and his siblings Adella Andrijeski of Kersey, and Dean Geilenkirchen of Windsor, and his grandchildren Samantha (Jeremy) Brunner of Arizona, Andrew (Jessi) Sullivan of Arizona, Erik (Rianne) Geilenkirchen of York, NE, and Jacob (Anna Doyle - Fiancée) Geilenkirchen of Omaha, NE, Larissa Geilen (Andrew Webb - Fiancé) of Parker, CO, brother-in-law Reggie McNamara of Arlington, TX, brother-in-law Jim Glass of Edmonds, WA, three great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and several grand-dogs.

He was preceded in death by his parents, G.D. and Clara Geilenkirchen; Frances Geilenkirchen; Philip Geilenkirchen; Jody Gatens-McKenna; his sister Loraine Glass; his brother, Father Jude (Earl) Geilenkirchen; his sisters-in law, Jo Geilenkirchen and Sue McNamara; his brother-in-law John Andrijeski; his nephew, Greg Andrijeski and his niece, DeAnna Geilenkirchen.

Visitation will begin at 8:00 AM Thursday, January 29th at St. Joseph Catholic Church located at 101 N Howes St in Fort Collins. Recitation of the Holy Rosary will begin at 9:00 AM Thursday, at St. Joseph's followed by Mass of Christian Burial at 9:30. Following the Mass and Military honors, a luncheon will be held in Meredith Hall. Interment will take place at 1:00 PM at Resthaven Cemetery located at 8426 US-287 in South Fort Collins. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to St Joseph Catholic School at 127 N Howes St in Ft Collins, CO 80521.