Pete G. Karabatsos

Pete was a Nebraska native and grew up in Fairbury, Nebraska. He was the youngest of six children born to Gus and Stella Karabatsos, Greek immigrants who migrated to the United States through Ellis Island in the early 1900’s and settled in Fairbury, after an arranged marriage.

At the age of 4 years old, Pete started elementary school, not knowing a word of English. He went on to graduate from Fairbury High School and then attended the Nebraska State Teachers College at Peru for his undergraduate degree. Pete received his Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska and also his Doctorate Degree in Education, earning him the title of Dr. Pete G. Karabatsos, PhD., a title of which he was incredibly proud. Pete spent his career in the field of education, first teaching, then consulting and finally, helping public schools develop non-profit foundations to help school districts fund projects. He was dedicated to the education of young people his entire life.

Pete worked as a teacher and school administrator during the late 1950’s into the late 1960’s. Pete became a professor at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, South Dakota and taught there for 4 years, until 1968. In 1968, Pete moved his family to Colorado and started Educational Consulting Associates. As a college professor, Pete had noticed that teachers and administrators had limited options to obtain continuing education credits. He started a company that hosted conferences for educators to attend and receive the continuing education credits they needed, featuring the top educational consultants at that time. This was a ground-breaking concept in the early 1970’s and they hosted conferences across the U.S., Hawaii, and Europe. Pete sold this business in the late 1980’s. Ever the entrepreneur, Pete started another consulting business in the 1990’s. The new consulting business helped public school districts establish non-profit educational foundations, to help school districts meet funding needs. Pete guided these projects from inception through the first major launch and fund-raising campaign. He also worked with several counties and libraries across Colorado to establish similar foundations. Pete continued to do consulting work well into his early 80s.

As most young men of the time, Pete did a stint in the Army and was stationed in Ft. Smith, Arkansas from 1956 to 1958. He was then on Reserve status until 1962.

Pete was preceded in death by Ardyce, his beloved wife of 62 years. Pete met Ardyce, the love of his life, at a small-town Saturday night dance in North Central Kansas. Ardyce was still in high school, and they dated for several years. At that time, many of the small towns in their area of Nebraska and Kansas hosted dances each weekend and that was the place to be on a Saturday night! They loved to dance and continued to do so for years. Six days after Ardyce graduated from high school in June 1954, she and Pete married. Other than work, and in later years Ardyce’s horse shows, they spent relatively little time apart in their years of marriage, choosing to pursue many activities together, from dancing, jogging, golf, skiing, swimming, hiking, fishing, travels to Mexico and Hawaii and taking in the fall colors in Colorado. They celebrated 62 years of marriage in June of 2016, just a little over a month before Ardyce passed away in July of that year. Pete and Ardyce had two daughters, Anne and Mary, and the family moved to Larkspur in 1971. Pete remained in the same house for the last 53 years.

Pete And Ardyce both volunteered extensively with youth-oriented programs, such as 4-H and various sports. A project near and dear to their hearts, that Pete and Ardyce helped establish, was the Colorado Agricultural Leadership Foundation (CALF), an organization that works to connect people of all ages and abilities to agriculture through education, community and events. Pete used his expertise in foundation development to help set up the non-profit aspects of the foundation and Ardyce was a familiar face for years at many CALF functions as a volunteer and teaching mentor. Pete was also instrumental in helping establish the Douglas County 4-H Foundation, which generates and distributes resources to support programs that increase achievement, foster lifelong learning, develop citizenship, and provide Douglas County 4-H youth opportunities to become contributing citizens.

Pete is survived by daughters Mary Malsch (Rob) of Larkspur, CO and Anne Horton (Chris) of Larkspur, CO, grandchildren Madison Sloan (Jacob) and Jake Malsch (fiancé Ada), Brogan Barlow (Wes) and Tierney Horton, as well as many nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews and great, great nieces.

Services are scheduled for Monday April 1, 2024 at 10:30 am at

Christ Episcopal Church

615 4th Street

Castle Rock, CO 80104

Pete was a dedicated supporter of youth and requested that donations be made to one of the below organizations in lieu of flowers:

Colorado Agricultural Leadership Foundation

P.O. Box 581

Attn: In Memory of Ardyce & Pete Karabatsos

Castle Rock, CO 80104

You can also donate online at www.thecalf.org

Douglas County 4-H Foundation

Attn: In Memory of Ardyce & Pete Karabatsos

c/o Douglas County Extension Office

410 Fairgrounds Road

Castle Rock, CO 80104

4-H Program: 720-733-6940

Email: [email protected]