People
Collection for person entities.
Pages
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- George Gibson Ferguson
- A rancher in the Garfield County area. He was born to George and Annie Ferguson in Stillwell, Oklahoma. His father was a farmer and his mother was a homemaker. US Census records from 1900 and 1910 show the family living in Indian Territory, and list the race of family members as Indian. George’s father was white. The 1909 US Eastern Cherokee Indian Rolls include George with his family, and show that he was nine years old in 1906. He enlisted in the armed forces in April 1917, during World War I, and was discharged in May 1919. According to census records, George’s family had moved to Garfield County, Colorado by 1920, where they owned a farm. He met Josephine Samantha “Jo” O’Quinn at a rodeo in Rifle and they married in 1922. They operated cattle ranches in Eagle and in what is now Battlement Mesa, and later ran a dairy farm. After living briefly in Las Vegas, they came to Mesa County, Colorado in the mid-1940's. They ranched in the Fruitvale/Clifton area.
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- George Gillett
- George Gillett was born and raised on a farm near Racine, Wisconsin. Gillett attended Amherst College in Massachusetts and finished his undergraduate study at Dominican College in Racine, Wisconsin. He was an honors student in his favorite course of study at Amherst: Henry Steele Commager’s American History. Gillett has had a diverse career as a management consultant, entrepreneur, and owner of radio stations, meat-packing plants, professional sports teams, ski areas and entertainment venues. In 1963, Gillett and family visited Vail for the first time. Gillett invested in Vail and became the primary owner of Vail Associates in 1983. Gillett’s many Vail Valley accomplishments include bringing the World Alpine Ski Championships to Vail in 1989, as well as spearheading the follow-up effort in 1999 alongside John Garnsey of the Vail Valley Foundation. In 1990, Gillett brought innovative orthopedic surgeons, Dr. John Richard Steadman and Dr. Richard J. Hawkins, to the community of Vail. He subsequently served on the board of the world-renowned “evidence-based medicine” Steadman Philippon Research Institute. In 1997, Apollo Ski Partners LP of New York gained control of Vail Associates; the company was rebranded Vail Resorts. Gillett stayed on four years as chairman of the new company. George Gillett is the focus of many special narratives in the Vail Valley. He is noted for his fine sense of humor, community caring, and creative, yet down-to-earth, management style.
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- George Greenbank
- George Greenbank was born in 1947 in Vernal, Utah, but he grew-up in Rangely, Colorado, where his parents, George and Opal Greenbank, owned the GHC grocery store and a liquor store. The family lived in Rangely until 1961 when they sold the businesses. They then moved to Delta, Colorado, where George’s grandmother lived, Hazel Wear Greenbank. She had married George Wear, in Holly, Texas, in 1906 in her parent’s home, before moving to Delta, Colorado. George’s great grandparents, on his mother’s side, were Charlie and Laura Longwill (originally from Pennsylvania) and they moved to Telluride in 1887. Hazel Longwill, their youngest daughter, was born in Dolores, Colorado. George graduated in 1965 from Delta High School and enrolled at MESA Junior College, in Grand Junction, Colorado, where he graduated with his Associates of Arts degree in 1967. One of his mentors, Davis Holder, a hydraulic engineer, turned college instructor, influenced George’s career to become an architect. So, George attended the University of Colorado School of Architecture in Boulder, Colorado. He graduated in 1971 with a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture. George’s great aunt Edith Rucker (George’s great grandmother’s sister) lived in Telluride, Colorado, so George moved to Telluride in 1971, after graduating. At the time, there was only one architect in the town of Telluride who did not want any help. Instead, George helped to build the Telluride West neighborhood (on the Valley Floor) by working in surveying, carpentry, masonry and labor. He used his drafting skills to help new residents with house plans creating premise drawings for liquor licenses and assist developer with planning documents. From his road surveyor jobs, George worked with Roger Mahnke, the county surveyor. George worked for Roger as a draftsman and Roger mentored George. He encouraged George to become an architect. George passed his architectural exam in 1986 (even though George had practiced residential architecture before the official exam). George then started his own business in Architecture in Telluride. Another mentor to George was Louise Gerdts, a woman from Aspen, Colorado, who moved to Telluride, Colorado. She was married to Urin Gerdts, and had two children: Stephie and Chris Gerdts. George met Louise in 1970, upon moving to Telluride. George recalls that Louise owned an office in Telluride, and she would meet every new person that moved to Telluride. She offered them a visit to the Drift In Café (Roma) and a piece of her delicious pie, prepared by Mrs. Anstine, the breakfast cook at 2 P.M. In Telluride, George married Jeanne Greenbank, (maiden name is Jeanne Buck). The couple was married in 1981 and they have a daughter Eleanor Ottilie Greenbank. While the couple does not have any grandchildren, they have two great nieces (Codi and Palmer, daughters of Elliott and Natalie Watenpaugh). In addition, Elliott has a brother, Ernie Watenpaugh, married to Katrina Watenpaugh. (Genealogy side note: Jane Watenpaugh is Jeanne’s sister and resides in Telluride, Colorado, along with her husband, Mark. Jane was the first ski patrol member in Telluride). In 1974, George and Nancy Craft started the San Miguel Citizens Alliance, in Telluride. George is also a member of the Sheep Mountain Alliance. With the passage of the 1981 Colorado Wilderness Act by the US Congress, the “Grass roots” San Miguel Citizens Alliance shared its membership list with Sheep Mountain Alliance, which formed with a goal beyond wilderness. In 1974, George was elected as a Councilman on Telluride's Town Council, the "slate council". George served as the chairman of the Telluride Planning Commission from 1971 - 1974 where initial work began on the first Telluride Masterplan and the River Park program. The River Park Plan united the town's unused street R.O.W.'s, David Sklare's Manitou Inn Property, Louise Gerdt's land across the street from the Pacific Street cribs and properties surrounding the Pick and Gad brick building creating the fist section of the river Park Trail System. While George retired his architectural business in 2011, he continues to be involved in the Telluride community as a member of the San Miguel Historic Commission. George and his wife, Jeanne, still reside in Telluride, as of 2021.