J. Stuart Krebs

1934 - 2025

J. Stuart Krebs
October 28, 1934 - June 5, 2025
Timing is everything and (John) Stuart Krebs was lucky enough to be born at a time (1934) and place (Montrose, CO) when most of the things that were important to him were possible. As a youth, helping with friends' sheep camps, he was able to act on his lifelong love of nature and mountains.
He attended CU in Boulder, got a degree in engineering and a commission in ROTC which sent him to Germany for two years during the cold war where he was a Company Commander. When he was mustered out of the army, he spent a year in Europe traveling, skiing, climbing and learning to speak German.
Returning to the US, he met Barbara Nagel on a Junior Colorado Mountain Club climb of Blanca Peak. They were married in 1961 - the year they paddled kayaks through Glen Canyon (now under Lake Powell).
As a couple they bought a VW beetle and drove from Europe to Pakistan to meet Peace Corps friends and climb in the Hindu Kush mountains. Returning to Europe they drove through the Middle East and, once again due to lucky timing, were able to see the giant Buddha statues in Afghanistan (now destroyed), visit Iran and the Holy Lands not yet a part of Israel.
Back in Colorado, in graduate school, they went to Chile to help with a geography land-use project. Eighteen months later they drove home through South and Central America (10,000 miles from Santiago, Chile to Montrose, Colorado), finished a PhD in Geography, then taught at CSU in Ft Collins for 15 years. During that time two sons were born, and the couple built a passive solar house.
In 1980 he resigned from CSU and moved back to Montrose where he engaged in community projects such as Montrose Downtown, Western Colorado Congress, Uncompahgre Valley Association, Public Lands Partnership, Valley Food Partnership, Time Bank of the Rockies, Great Decisions Discussions, and Friends of the Himalayas, built a second passive solar house, and raised goats.
He continued adventuring - climbing volcanos in Mexico, Mt Foraker (next to Mt Denali in Alaska), cross country skiing into huts, paddling kayaks through the Grand Canyon and other rivers in the west. He took the entire family on a section of the Churchill River in Canada, and in his later years took annual blackberry picking, ocean paddling trips.
He was always ready to help friends get out into nature - or to repair their cars, shoes or equipment. He understood and could fix zippers.
He is survived by his wife, Barb; son, Sven and wife, Shauna Tewksbury; son, Arn and wife, Sue Freda; two grandsons Silas Krebs and Cameron Ticherich; grand daughter, Cora Ticherich; sister in law, Meg Nagel, and two sisters, Sandi Key and Garee Zellmer.
A memorial gathering will be held August 17 at the Ute Museum, 1 to 4 p.m. Bring short stories and a loving heart.