John Brix Gustavson

John Brix Gustavson passed away on July 27, 2023, in Boulder, Colorado, after a long battle with cancer. John was born November 27, 1932, in Copenhagen, Denmark to Harald and Inge Gustavson (Sorenson). He was a young boy when Denmark was occupied by the Nazi regime in April 1940, and several of his uncles were actively engaged in the Danish resistance. John earned a master's degree in chemical engineering from the Technical University of Denmark in 1956. He emigrated to the United States in 1956 at age 23. He was proud of his Danish heritage and remained tightly connected to Denmark throughout his lifetime. He was even more proud to be a US citizen, and reminded his children that he was "more American than they were" as he chose to move to the US while they were just lucky to have been born here. He continued his education at the University of California - Berkeley, in Fluid Dynamics, from 1957 to 1959, and obtained another master's degree in Geology from the University of Memphis in the mid-1970's. He met the love of his life, Carole, in Memphis in 1970. They married, had two children (Jeffrey and Christine), and moved to Boulder in 1978, where Jeff and Chris were raised. John has a son from a prior marriage, Johnathan Brix Gustavson, who spent over a decade in the military as a US Navy Seal. John was a very successful entrepreneur in the field of natural resource development. He founded Gustavson Associates, a highly reputable consulting and mineral appraisal firm that he "retired" from in 2007. His strong leadership ensured his small company survived the 1986 oil price crash without laying off a single employee. Carole worked with John at the company for many years, and when bidding for work he would include Carole's travel expenses in contracts so they could travel together. He told clients this was part of the package. They never complained as he was much better with her by his side. John's contributions to the natural resources industry include patents, several inventions, numerous white papers, and presentations. He authored or co-authored over 60 papers on a variety of topics related to the mineral appraisal profession, presented his work at numerous professional conferences, and mentored countless professionals across multiple industries. He continued working as an independent consultant until just a few days before his death at age 90. John was a wonderful man. He was proud but humble (mostly), he was intellectual yet practical. He was full of life with a sparkle in his eyes, did anything in the name of fun, and almost never had a bad day. He had a great sense of humor and could laugh at himself. He was a man of great integrity who could always be trusted, something he passed on to those around him. He was a caring husband, father, grandfather, brother, mentor, and friend and although we had him for a long time, he will be sorely missed. John is survived in death by his wife Carole, son Brix and wife Veronica, son Jeff and his wife Jodie, his daughter Chris, six grandchildren (Sophie, Cecily, and Jace Gustavson and Ella, Remy, and Paxton Tolar), and his sister Neel Bacher. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in John's name to the Humane Society of Boulder Valley.