Obituary of Edwin Herman Barthuly

Edwin H. Barthuly was born in Lincoln, NE, on November 8, 1925, son of Henry and Marie Barthuly, and one of six children, four boys and two girls. He grew up during the hard times of the 1930s when he and his brothers were all expected to contribute to helping the family get by. Ed’s job was to tend the garden, growing some of the family’s food. Being a child of the Depression, he learned the value of frugality, responsibility and self-sufficiency early.

By the time he graduated from high school, the US was at war and he enlisted in the Navy, serving in the Pacific through the end of World War II. After the war he stayed on in California, taking advantage of the new GI bill to attend college and earn an associates degree.

He returned to his home in Nebraska several years after the war ended, and there he met the woman who would be the love of his life: Marjorie Zimmerman. They married in 1952 and added a daughter, Julie, to the family five years later. Ed and Marj were together for 65 years, until her passing in 2017. He was still telling people the day before he died what a wonderful woman she was. She would call him a real gentleman – phrasing it “a real gentle man”. 

In the late 60s, the family embarked on a new adventure and moved to Arvada, Colorado. This new place brought new jobs for both of them and a new school for Julie, new friends and also deeper ties to Ed’s brother Richard who was living in Louisville, CO. It turned out to be a very good place for all of them and it really became home.

Ed always worked hard, mostly in sales. He used to say that he was never so bored as when he had a desk job. That wasn’t for him. He enjoyed being able to get out and meet people. He liked having a sales territory that took him all over Colorado. He finished his working life as an independent handy man which gave him the opportunity to use many of his varied skills. He loved tinkering with things, fixing or building things. Anything he built, he built to last.

Though he made Colorado his home, he never lost his love for Nebraska Cornhuskers football. Honestly, he loved any kind of football, but especially Nebraska and the Broncos, even when they make it difficult to be their fan.

He enjoyed gardening and passed on his knowledge and love of growing things to his daughter, as he did with so many things, like watercolor painting, rock collecting, and a knowledge of how things are built. He always had an appreciation of the natural world, whether it was driving in the Colorado mountains or watching the birds in his backyard. And he loved his schnauzers.

Ed enjoyed good health for nearly all of his 98 years. He lived his last few years at Mountain Vista Assisted Living in Wheat Ridge, CO, where he became a favorite of both the staff and residents.

He passed away peacefully on Saturday, October 14, 2023, with his daughter Julie and son-in-law Kevin by his side. He left this life at almost the exact moment of totality of the solar eclipse – the perfect cosmic moment. Not many people can pull that off.  

He will be laid to rest beside his beloved Marj October 26 at the Arvada Cemetery.