James Adolph Kriewall

He was born On April 13, 1941, in Bay City, Michigan and was adopted by Ruth and Adolph Kriewall of Chicago, Illinois when he was 6 months old. Jim grew up in Chicago, graduated from Taft High School in 1959 and went on to the University of Illinois where he earned a degree in electrical engineering in1964. While at the University of Illinois, he met his wife of 62 years Nancy (Wachter) and they were married on February 2, 1963, just one year before his graduation.

After graduating in 1964, Jim and Nancy made the bold decision to leave Illinois when Jim accepted a job offer with a high-tech company in Southern California. A year later in 1965, another job opportunity led them up north to San Jose, California where they bought their first home. In California, Jim and Nancy enjoyed the pleasures of newlywed life and homeownership as well as the pleasant California climate. Jim had several job changes in his early working years, including designing surveillance equipment for the government and working with lasers. His specialty, however, was radio frequency engineering, and he was a skilled engineer with diverse technical skills. Jim continued his education while working in California and earned a master’s degree in engineering from Santa Clara University in 1972.

Jim had a passion for flying and earned his pilot’s license in the 80’s, becoming an avid recreational pilot. He joined a pilot’s club flying regularly after work and on the weekends, he and Nancy would fly up to the coast to Half Moon Bay for lunch. After moving to Fort Collins, he nurtured his passion for flight by flying gliders and taking aerial acrobatics classes as well.

In 1969, Jim and Nancy welcomed their first son Matthew and four years later welcomed their second son Michael. Having two thriving sons completed Jim and Nancy’s life and they had years of family adventures and made beautiful memories. His most cherished moments were spending time with family playing games and early morning water ski runs in the family boat on Bass Lake. Tragically, their lives were shattered in 1997 with the loss of Michael in a traffic accident in California. This loss devastated the family, especially Jim.

After the loss of Michael, Jim and Nancy decided to make the trek to Colorado to start a new chapter of their lives to be closer to Matt and his wife Michelle and their two young grandchildren Michaela and Mason. Jim loved spending time with his grandchildren fishing and spending summers on Grand Lake in his beloved boat.

As a child, Jim showed artistic talent painting and drawing landscapes and cartoons. He was also quite clever and had a cheeky sense of humor; he was quick witted always ready with a funny joke or two to make the family chuckle. In his adult years, he became quite a card shark and played poker weekly. He loved his poker nights and was very fortunate to have many great friends there. Jim loved giving the family frequent updates on his poker winnings and would jokingly comment on how sorry he was for winning so often! Jim and Nancy were avid travelers visiting many countries over the years, but Jim was most fond of cruises. Jim particularly enjoyed cruising through the Panama Canal and marveled at the engineering feat of the canal locks.

Jim was an amazing individual! We could go on and on about his life experiences and accomplishments that made him who he was as there were so many! What we will remember Jim most by is his kind heart, zest for life, witty personality and immense love for family and friends. Our lives have been deeply affected by knowing Jim and his absence will be felt by those who loved him. We will think of him often and miss him greatly.

Jim is survived by his wife Nancy (Wachter) Kriewall, son Matt Kriewall & daughter in law Michelle (Pomeroy) Kriewall, granddaughter Michaela (Kriewall) Telck & her husband Patrick Telck, grandson Mason Kriewall and multiple family members in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. He is preceded in death by his son Michael Kriewall.