George David Pickens

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of George David Pickens, aged 95, who left us peacefully on January 14th, 2026. George, the son of George and Lillie May Pickens, was born July 29, 1930 and lived almost his entire life in Fruita. He loved to tell stories of hiking and biking as a boy around Fruita and the Monument. He was proud to have climbed Independence Rock when he was 12 (although getting down proved a bit harder). A 1948 graduate of Fruita Union HS, George captained both the basketball and track teams his senior year and played center on the football team. In 2023, George was recognized for his athletic career with induction into the FMHS Hall of Fame. After graduation, George worked along his father mining coal and then joined the U.S. Army (not the US Navy as the Fruita Veterans monument incorrectly states), serving with honor and distinction as a tank commander for the 40th Division Medium Tank Company in the Korean War. His tank crew was written up twice in Stars and Stripes. Following an honorable discharge, he attended BYU and Mesa, graduating with a business degree. He then moved into the auto body business opening Pickens Body Shop in 1962 (where he could still be found most days until his death) and teaching auto body work at Mesa.

In 1962, he married Patricia Johns and together they raised their daughter, Cindy in Fruita.

George loved Fruita and served as a school bus driver (on the Glade Park run), an ambulance driver and a volunteer fireman, where he helped with the annual fireworks show. The town thanked him in 2022 by naming him Grand Marshal of the Fall Festival.

George’s hobbies reflect his love of Colorado – avid deer hunter, horseback riding and Bronco season ticket holder for almost fifty years. George also raced cars and was a private pilot, taking his family on numerous flights across the west. Later in life, he became an avid four-wheeler and could be found exploring off road trails in Colorado and Utah. But most of all, George was an avid storyteller, who had an incredible memory for Fruita and Colorado sports. He could recite all the major FMHS state champions going back to the 1940’s – he had a special fondness for wresting, attending many meets and state championships over the years.

George is survived by daughter Cindy Culbertson and her husband Dave of Houston, TX, granddaughter, Brooke Lessman and her husband, Garrett of Dallas, TX; grandson, John Culbertson and his wife, Casey of Dallas, TX, granddaughter, Blair Bakamus, and her husband, Rem of Lubbock, TX and great-grandchildren Whit Lessman and Quinn Bakamus as well as his ex-wife, Patricia Pickens of Fruita.

George would like to thank Comfort Keepers, the Grand Junction VA hospital and HopeWest for their care and support.

A celebration of George’s life will be held Thursday, April 2, at Elmwood Cemetery in Fruita, where friends and family are invited to share their memories and honor his remarkable life. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Fruita Monument High School in care of the Fruita Monument Hall of Fame 1102 Wildcat Ave, Fruita, CO 81521.