Rusty Shaffer

Russel Douglass Shaffer (Rusty), age 63, formally of Boulder, CO. died on Oct. 25th, 2012 in Phoenix, AZ.

Rusty was born on May 7th, 1949 to Russ and Ann Shaffer, and graduated from Boulder High School in 1967. He attended and played football at the University of N. Co for two years. He then transferred to the University of Colorado, and graduated with a degree in Communications in 1972.

Rusty and Debbie Hayhurst, of Aurora, CO, were married in 1972 and lived in Boulder where they raised two children, Ryan and Marnie. Rusty was a dedicated father and took pride in being involved in his children's lives. He was an ambitious volunteer and tried his hand as a coach of every sport his kids played.

Rusty began his career in radio by selling advertising for KBOL, the local station owned by the Shaffer family. He was a popular sports broadcaster doing color commentary for the University of Colorado basketball team and play-by-play for the local high schools. He was also the host of the very popular grid-a-phone talk show. Listeners enjoyed hearing the current national college football scores and the chance to talk about the games.

Rusty was the manager of KBOL for many years and was elected President of the Colorado Broadcaster Association in 1982. He became the sole owner of the station in 1985.

Rusty sold KBOL in 1992 and later joined the Bank of Boulder in their Credit Card Payment Processing division. After three years with the bank, he helped form ACS Merchant Services. Rusty was President of ACS as they quickly became a leading regional company in the industry. In 2000, ACS became TransFirst and under Rusty's leadership, the company was a national leader in the secured payments processing industry and remains a major employer in the Boulder area. After leaving TransFirst, Rusty moved to Phoenix, AZ. and continued to work as a senior executive and consultant in the secured payments industry.

Rusty and Virginia Lewis, of Tallahassee, Florida, were married on Amelia Island, Florida in 2003, and reside in Phoenix. They have two children, Amelia and Cole. Rusty fully embraced his second round of fatherhood and cherished every moment spent with his young family. This past summer in Colorado was especially rewarding as he got to watch Amelia and Cole catch their first fish, and he treasured the moment when he held his first grandchild Tinley.

After fighting a brave battle against pancreatic cancer, Rusty expressed how blessed he was with a wonderful and fulfilling life and that he was spiritually at peace.

Rusty is survived by his mother Ann of Boulder, his brother Jeff of Phoenix, wife Virginia, daughter Amelia (6), son Cole (4), former wife Debbie, son Ryan (39), daughter Marnie Kenner (34) and husband Rich, granddaughter Tinley (4 months), Nephew Andrew (19) of Phoenix, and Nieces Allison (31) of Fairfax, VA, and Ann (22) of Spokane, WA, and numerous cousins. He was preceded in death by his father, Russ and brother Steve.

A celebration of Rusty's life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, December 3rd at Sacred Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church located at 6739 South Boulder Road, Boulder, CO 80303. A reception will follow after the service. In lieu of flowers, the Shaffer family has requested donations be made to Wings of Hope for Pancreatic Cancer Research in memory of Rusty at www.wingsofhopepcr.org.