James R. Trompeter

James R. Trompeter passed away on Friday, December 6th, after celebrating 80 years of a full life. Jim had to learn to be very independent in his life after losing his parents in a plane crash at the age of 15. That independent and self-sufficient attitude followed him throughout life.

Jim had a successful career as an orthodontist in Aurora and Parker from 1968-2004 and enjoyed running into previous patients and their families to see their smiles and learn about how their lives had been progressing. He was very active in the Catholic Church at St. Francis of Assisi parish (Castle Rock) and Our Lady of the Visitation parish (Elizabeth) with a number of roles. He seemed to enjoy best his involvement with the men’s breakfast/scripture study group and the Knights of Columbus service group.

During his life, he also enjoyed playing or watching a variety of sports. Jim was on the varsity wrestling team at Marquette University, and while serving his country in the military led the formation of a new wrestling team at Chanute Air Force Base. He coached Little League for his sons and for others’ children in the community. Every winter he enjoyed skiing with the entire family, and during the summer would often be found on the golf course with his wife Lucille. On a more relaxed Sunday afternoon, it was sometimes difficult to pull him away from a Rockies or Broncos game on TV, and if he wasn’t watching those teams, he might be found just sitting in his home study admiring a few autographed items in his sports memorabilia collection.

In his retirement years, he and Lucille were also prolific travelers going to a number of distant destinations including Europe, Egypt and Israel, South Africa, South America, Southeast Asia, and China. He would also roam a little closer to home and make multiple trips to visit family members throughout the United States.

Jim is preceded in death by his father and mother, Henry and Mabel, as well as his brother Richard. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Lucille, his sons Tom- of Chicago, Guy- of Denver, and Greg (wife Julie and sons Joseph Doornhaag and Nathan Trompeter)- of Adrian, Michigan. Also his sisters Dorothy of Wisconsin and Patricia of Illinois, and his brother Gerald of Indiana.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be sent to: Operation Smile, 3641 Faculty Boulevard, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23453 (To make a contribution, please see the link below).