Barnard "Bernie" Lee Whitchurch

Barnard "Bernie" Lee Whitchurch, age 93, of Westminster, Colorado passed away on Tuesday, September 19, 2023. Viewing and Graveside Service was held at Olinger's Mortuary and Crown Hill Cemetery respectively on September 30, 2023

Written by Brent J. Greenberg

On February 14th, 1930, in Leoti Kansas the man upstairs blessed this world with the gift of one Barnard Lee Whitchurch aka the man we all knew as Bernie.

He was known to all under the titles of Husband, Father, Grandfather, Great Uncle, Uncle, builder, friend, mentor, confidant and well just to sum it up one hell of a great guy. My grandfather would have wanted this occasion to be one of celebration of good memories, stories shared, lessons learned and most importantly family and friends united. His family was his compass in life, he wanted to take care of, educate, protect, and guide those people in his life; beware to the man who tried to stand in the way of that quest.

On September 21st, 1949, Bernie married Doris and together they charged through life with these goals in mind and their success can be seen in the people here today. Bernie’s values of honesty, integrity, and caring guided him in his friendships and business in life as well as being passed on to all those in his reach.

Life is a series of challenges, problems, errors, successes, and failures all of which we must take something away from, cry about, tell stories, and laugh about. Grandad loved to teach and share his experience through counsel and physical experience.

We all know that Grandad liked to tell a tale or two so on that note as the immortal Paul Harvey would say “And now for the rest of the story….”. Don’t worry old man I will keep it PG13.

#1 Nails, a must for any building project, “Here Brent Jordan, this can of bent nails can be straightened and used to build your fort.”

Lesson: Waste not want not, how to use a hammer, work ethic, and last but not least keep your fingers out of the way of the hammer! In later years we did the drill lesson and I cleaned him out of a 5 LB. box of sheet rock screws and may or may not have caused him to have to replace a 20’ section of fence at the old Lakewood house…oops. Enter another demonstrated lesson of love and patience.

#2 Hunting, fishing, shooting, and gardening.

Lesson: Hunting, a lesson of precision, patience, and respect for all life i.e., if you shoot it you eat it. By the way, Red-breasted Robin tastes like worms! Fishing, is a lesson in patience and knowing your knot and that fishing hooks are really hard to get out of your hand. Shooting, a lesson of precision, and self-reliance, I may have almost caused the creek by the cabin to almost collapse into the driveway by the amount of lead I put in that hill. Gardening, is a lesson of patience, love of the outdoors, nature and people in them, and the proper pronunciation of the word “Bonsai”. Yet another example of patience and love for family that may have ended up is “Sindee my dear you may just not be able to say it”, with his signature grin and a wink.

#3 Golf and pool

Lesson: Golf a lesson in good sportsmanship, intro to business, and control (Why would someone use a game like golf in a business setting that causes most human beings to instantly develop a case of Tourette Syndrome and redefine the use of every four letter word in the English language? Oh, ya that was the control part.) In regards to the pool part I had to take the liberty of changing that lesson of control to, “A good defense is a good offense”, make sure you leave all your balls in front of the pockets so he can’t make the 8 ball. I think I beat him on a number a person can count on one hand.

In summary, Grandad's passing as we feel it here and now as a loss shouldn’t be regarded as such, nor do I believe he would want this event to be remembered that way. This is simply a passing of the torch to the rest of us and a challenge for us all to pass on his experiences, knowledge, and love to the rest of the world and the people around us.

Mark the Log; as of September 19th, 2023: Challenge accepted Young Man, we have the watch….and, yes I closed the gate.

Written by: Sara Carruthers

Grandpa

Grandpa, you are the type of man real men should aspire to be. You have taught me the values in life that matter the most. Your contagious smile and loving eyes make all feel welcome. Your integrity leaves me in awe. Your love for your family has made me a better woman. Your constant pursuit of the importance of hobbies and crafts leaves me searching for the same.

Because of you, I will always walk my loved ones to their car. Your commitment and true love for Grandma would leave the world a better place if everybody would do the same. Your storytelling skills are one to be reckoned with. You’ve taught me the value of a real handshake and meaningful eye contact. You’ve taught me there’s nothing more valuable than your work. You’ve taught me pool-playing skills that have left me the champion of a pool hall, all run by men. You were living proof that when there’s a will there’s a way, and to never to give up. Your values and love reflect on what an amazing mom my mother is. This has passed to me and I promise to pass your legacy on to my children. You’ve taught me that you don’t need lots of money to be the richest person in life.

You taught me how to swim, drive a car, a proper paint brush stroke, how to show a horse, how to hold a pool que, and a proper golf club grip and swing. Not saying I’m awesome at any of those besides the driving part. I’ll never forget the time you chased my 4-H pig across the entire county of Steamboat Springs. My first car was because of you. Thank you for making sure it was a rear-wheel drive. It made me a better driver because of having to learn how to drive it in the snow, and it made way for fun donuts in empty parking lots covered in snow and ice.

Thank you for teaching me how to tie knots, it has made me capable of securing child gates in my house without drilling holes into the wall. You taught me how to tie fishing hooks and how to gut a fish properly. I’ll never forget the time we fished for Pike at the Platte River.

You taught me that being a good salesperson wasn’t a gimmick, but a craft and an image of being a good person. At the end of the day, you are the person I admire. If I can be half the person you are and live to your age and still “Kick ass”, I would be so lucky.

I love you and am grateful that I get to call you GRANDPA.

Sara Carruthers

Written by: Tyler Whitchurch

BLW

The rose that strangely bloomed in Brent’s yard the morning after Grandpa’s passing was particularly metaphoric of who he was. Our grandfather Barnard (or Bernie, or Grandpa or Grandpa Great) was a unique mix of hard and soft; like the gentle flower pedal of a rose balanced by a course and thorned stem. He was a very tough man, someone who rarely complained… (until the later days of course), but always quick with a wink or a grin. He adored his wife Doris and doted on his great-grandchildren, often meeting them on the floor to play with their trucks. His gardens were always tended, despite times when his body was being ravaged by age, illness, or disease. Once golfing with my father and me, wincing in pain he laid down on the tee box, pushed a hernia back through his perforated abdomen with his hands, then stood up and drove the ball. “Hold your club like it’s a little bird,” he would say.

A great work ethic was instilled in him, something he passed on to his children and I would say became his legacy for our family. And though some things might be upside down or backward, you could be damn sure they were level!

As a young boy his father tasked him with making a brick per day, something he managed to do before he left for school, surely after his chores were completed. Brick by brick, day by day, enough mud and material to eventually build a small house.

While he had challenges in elementary as a boy it did not keep him from graduating high school as a wrestling champion and winning Cheerleader Doris, his wife of 70+ years. One becomes envious of the friendship Bernie and Doris had with those high-school chums, staying connected with most and lunching well into their 70s. Relationships were important to Bernie, he knew so many people, knew their names, their spouse’s name, where they worked, and what made them special to him.

Grandpa was also a proud man. Proud of his family, proud of his accomplishments, and his talents in taking his friend's money at the senior center billiard table. He was proud of the many homes and buildings he constructed, including the first home my father lived in with his newlywed parents, formed with little more than grit and a desire to provide for his family.

He reminded me that it is okay to push away from the table every now and then. At my wedding, he told Sara (who looked great), that he would give her $20 to put the rest of her dress on. Both examples of him being brutally honest and honestly brutal.

He also told me, with damp eyes, that every struggle he went through in California was worth it to see my son Finn hit a homerun at a baseball game he attended, something that left a mark on him during more recent times.

As a kid, I knew Grandpa through golf and pool. As a young man, I knew him through hard work and relationships. As the adult I am, I know him as a man who persevered despite adversity, who desperately loved his family, and who had many regrets but delivered lessons openly. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to know him at these various stages, despite the turbulence of the past several years, and I will miss him dearly.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.CrownHillFuneral.com for the Whitchurch family.