Jerald “J.R.” Ray Pinon passed away Friday, November 19, 2021 at the age of 61. J.R. was born in Denver, CO on March 1, 1960 to Donald (“Don”) and Geraldine (“Gerry”) Pinon. He later moved with his family to Nebraska and graduated from Gering High School in 1978 and from Bible College in 1983. From there J.R. spent time in Reno, NV pursuing his love for God and the church, as well as mastering his construction skills. J.R. eventually moved back to the Denver area and pursued construction full time. He was phenomenal in his trade as a woodworking carpenter focusing on interior trim. On January 29, 2000 J.R. married Annikke in Westminster, Colorado. They had four wonderful children together, Jaydon “JP”, Everett, Wesley (who was stillborn in 2003) and LaRae.
In 2002, J.R. made a career change and went into the funeral business. It was quickly noticed by everyone around him that this was definitely his calling and his gift. He started out as a driver taking families to and from funerals and then got a position in the crematory before making his way to funeral director. He was always willing to go the extra mile to get the family he was serving exactly what they needed no matter what position he held. He had a keen ability to constantly be listening as the family shared little bits of information about their loved ones and he would use all the information he heard to provide a beautiful service with some of the most intimate details.
J.R. enjoyed everything Colorado has to offer, skiing, hiking, camping, off-roading and spending time with his family. J.R. also enjoyed taking long road trips – one favorite family road trip was when J.R. came home from work and told everyone to pack their bags and plan to be gone a week. Everyone packed their bags and got in the car. When asked where he was taking them, he said he didn’t know and that he was going to just head West and see where it took him. The family remembers stopping in Moab, Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon and a few other places along the way, all before making their way back home. That was what he loved to do – no real plan, just get out there and explore. Life was about adventure.
J.R. also had a lifelong love for Jeeps, so much so that he would sometimes just go to a Jeep dealership to walk around and look at all the Jeeps. He loved off-roading in his Jeeps and would go explore the back country every chance he got.
J.R. was a long time Broncos fan and had been a season ticket holder for many years. He enjoyed taking friends with him to the games when his family couldn’t go with him.
J.R. is survived by his wife, Annikke; his three children JP, Everett and LaRae; his mother, Gerry; his sister Arla (Gary) Nichols; his sister RaDonna (Jerry) Smith; his sister Donetta (Randy) Kirkman; his sister Jan (Craig) Embree; and many nephews, nieces, great-nephews and great-nieces and cousins. He is also preceded in death by his father, Donald; and his son, Wesley as well as several aunts and uncles.
He will be deeply missed by his friends, family and all who knew him.
A visitation will be held on December 1, 2021 from 4pm until 7pm at Olinger Chapel Hill Mortuary, 6601 S. Colorado Blvd., Centennial, CO 80121. Funeral Services will be held on Thursday, December 2, 2021 at 4pm at Plum Creek Church, 960 Interstate 25, Castle Rock, CO, 80104.
TO JOIN THE LIVESTREAM OF SERVICES:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87647625072?pwd=WWZUeTJTVGUzdzZNT2xaZkhmMWpjQT09
Meeting ID: 876 4762 5072
Passcode: 1222021
DONATIONS
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18