Jay Niebur, 72, of Boulder, CO., took his last breath on earth, May 1, 2013. He was born March 5, 1941, in Wheeling, West Virginia, to Amy (Duke) Niebur and Lt. Col. Clarence Niebur. Jay graduated from Wheeling High School in 1959 and attended the U.S. Air Force Academy from 1959 to 1962, earned a B.A. degree in Math and History from Northern Arizona University in 1964, an M.A degree in History from Arizona State University in 1966, and a Ph.D in Economic History from the University of Colorado in 1976. His dissertation was later published under the title: Arthur Redman Wilfley: Miner, Inventor, and Entrepreneur. Even though his Ph.D qualified him to teach at the college level, he was drawn to the students at Fairview High School in Boulder, CO., and taught there from 1972 to 1996. He was able to engage his inquisitive mind with many of the stimulating FHS students. While a history, anthropology and economics teacher, he helped establish the International Baccalaureate Program at FHS. Students in his economics classes bought and sold stocks on the New York Stock Exchange. Jay especially enjoyed the intimacy and challenge of students enrolled in independent study programs. In 1977, Jay, his wife, Ruth (Lamse), and their three children purchased property in east Boulder. They called it Colorado Sky Ranch and started boarding horses. The ranch afforded Jay another type of schooling as he learned how to irrigate; mow and bale hay; build structures; and provide a haven for his children as they grew into adults. Besides teaching and farming, Jay was a Boy Scout leader, a board member of the Baseline Lake Recreation Group, a board member of the Enterprise Irrigation Ditch Company, and an enthusiastic hiker, skier, swimmer, camper, and reader. During most of the summers from 1990 to the present, he helped his friend, Don Bunker, construct a cabin in northern Saskatchewon, Canada. Above all else, he deeply loved his wife Ruth, their three children and six grandchildren; Bryant and Martina (Reissberger) Niebur and their children, Corinna and Oliver of Vancouver, Washington; Sabra and Dave Olson and their children, Steven and Amber of Boulder; and Dewayne and JoAnn (Belak) Niebur and their children, Tara and Kinley, of Aspen. Jay is survived by his sister, Wilda Morrow, of Inwood, West Virginia, and a brother, Howard Duke Niebur of Rockville, Maryland. A memorial service will be held at the church where Jay was a 40 year member: Crestview Christian Reformed Church, 3665 Madison Ave., Boulder, at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 1, 2013. Donations in his memory may be made to the Boy Scouts of America, Long's Peak Council, 2215 23rd Ave., Greeley, CO., 80634.
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Published in The Boulder Daily Camera on May 12, 2013
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