John Arthur Sichel

John A. Sichel, of Boulder, CO, known by many as “John, the Druggist,” passed away Monday, January 7, 2019, at the age of 87, with his wife, Luba, by his side. Born in Brooklyn, NY on December 26, 1931, he was the son of Sidney and Helen Sichel (Hopkins). John was a Boulder resident for 47 years, and was known for his humor, generosity, and outgoing nature.

After graduating in 1949, from Rutherford High School in Rutherford, NJ, John earned a B.S. in Pharmacy from Drake University, and was a proud member of the School of Pharmacy’s second graduating class in 1954. Later in life John earned a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. In 1955 John married Janet Sichel (nee Hedges) of Hedrick, IA. They were married for 28 years. After college graduation, John joined the U.S. Army, serving in Korea as a M.A.S.H. unit medic and orderly from 1955 to 1958.

John’s professional career began as a pharmaceutical sales representative for Hoffman-LaRoche in Nutley, NJ. He was the Product Manager for Valium and Librium. He departed LaRoche to achieve his wish to raise his family in Colorado.

The family moved to Denver in 1969, where John joined Elba Systems as Director of Marketing. In 1972, he fulfilled a lifelong dream of opening a drugstore — Boulder’s Village Apothecary in William’s Village. Later, in 1981, John founded the publicly held Proto-Med, a medical device manufacturing company. In 1985, John joined the Imaging Cooperative as an MRI marketing consultant and educator.

Ever the entrepreneur, John came out of retirement to found Pure Research Products, where he worked with Liubov Shynkarenko the microbiologist in Kiev, Ukraine who developed the immune product called Del-Immune. The two had a long-distance relationship and were married in Boulder in February of 2006.

For ten years, John sailed out of Auckland, New Zealand on his boat “Clearcut.” John was also an avid cyclist, and in 1999, participated in the RAGBRAI bike ride across Iowa. He was an 18-time participant in the Bolder Boulder, played the ukulele and didgeridoo, enjoyed studying World War II history, cooking, art, and reading. A long-time member of the Boulder Rotary Club, John was a regular organizer of the Rotary’s Annual Coat Drive. He was also a member of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Boulder for 35 years.

John will be dearly missed by his wife, Luba Sichel, and his children, G. Dirk Sichel of Tequesta, FL, and Pamela Sichel of Lyons, CO. As well as his stepchildren Kate Shpylka and spouse Alex, Ted Grygoriev and spouse Anna, and their children Paul, Illya, and John Shpylka; and Mia and Emmy Grygoriev all of Kiev, Ukraine. John was predeceased by his siblings Janet Titus, William Sichel, Stanley Sichel, and George Sichel.

A celebration of John’s life will be held on Saturday June 15, 2019 at 10:00am at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Boulder. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Boulder Community Hospital Foundation or charity of choice.

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