Arthur William Mecklenburg

1941 - 2008

Arthur William Mecklenburg, aka "the Meck" born May 16, 1941, died on May 11, 2008. An unfailingly kind, generous and compassionate soul, he will be missed by everyone fortunate enough to have known him. His humor lightened the spirit and brought to each encounter an invitation to participate in the knowledge that we are all subject to the limitations and exaltations of the human condition. He was a problem solver and a scientist, a stubborn and passionate advocate of reason and logic. He chose to spend his life always in places of natural beauty, always where the elements of earth water and sky mingle; he decried the inequities that allowed some to go hungry while others live in excess. He closely followed the populist media served up by News Corp (know your enemy) while actively supporting PBS and the democratic party. He did what he could to make this world a better place, embodying the philosophy that it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

Art was born in San Francisco on May 16, 1941, grew up in L.A. and moved to Boulder in 1966. He worked for IBM as a modeler and computer scientist, from 1966 to 1991 and received his Ph. D. from Imperial College in London in 1978. He and his first wife, Lloydine, had two children, Paul and Heidi, both of whom have become wonderful, smart, adults who share and carry on his humor, wit and determination to make this world a better place. On January 31, 1987 Art met Phoebe Greyson, whom he married on May 27, 1991. From the day of their meeting until the date of Art's death, they were never far apart. Two strong minded, stubborn and opinionated individuals, they debated everything and shared a love which was without reservation or limit. Toward the end, when Art was ill, he called Phoebe his "rock". She called him her "hearth". His absence from her life is an unfathomable and indescribable loss.

Art was an avowed atheist, having rejected agnosticism as a lack of conviction. Those wishing to honor Art's life may make a contribution to the things that he loved: the Denver Zoo, where he and Phoebe spent many very happy hours, or Rocky Mountain PBS.
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