John Walter Armiger Jr.

John Walter Armiger, Jr was born in Maryland, to Jack and Carol Armiger on October 25, 1944. After attending high school at Seton Hall, John attended St. Francis College in New York City. John then joined the army and served as an officer for (likely 4 years). Upon returning to civilian life, John was an executive in the textiles industry. It was about that time that his interest in skiing eventually lead to a significant life change. He would travel from New York to Vermont to ski on weekends. He wanted to "really learn to ski" and decided to take one year to go to Colorado to really learn. That was 1970. He came to Steamboat and never left. He followed the typical ski bum path, having left his grand salary and company car, to wash dishes, bus tables, and work odd jobs in Steamboat so that he could ski. John skied in the winter and would often travel in the summer on his motorcycle, often summering in Florida, alternately working on large commercial sailboats, and driving the cab to make ends meet. As his ski skills grew, John began teaching for Steamboat's ski school. He did this for about 6 years until he proudly worked for the patrol there for 4-5 more. John became known by many of his ski patrol buddies as "Long Arm" (iger) after having "single handedly" leaned out from the back of his chair lift seat, holding with one arm, onto a 50lb ski patrol sled, which had come detached from the chair, for the duration of the one thousand nine hundred and thirty five vertical foot lift, rather than let it fall and possibly cause someone to be injured by, rather than rescued by it. John was also an avid and passionate white water kayaker, enjoying days long river trips down pristine river and canyons as well as frequent "after work" or weekend paddles with close friends. He was also a passionate cyclist spending many hours riding the beautiful and scenic roads in Steamboat and to neighboring towns also enjoying organized rides and citizen races. Also during his rise in the ski industry he began working as an electrician's apprentice, followed by a journeyman's and finally a master electrician, eventually creating his own business, STECO ("Steamboat", "Ski Town", or "Summer Time" Electric Company as he would seasonally change the message on his answering machine), which he operated for over 30 years. Upon retirement, John returned to driving a cab, sharing his many years of Steamboat knowledge with eager tourists.
John was a helpful, kind, stubborn, and hardworking individual, loved and respected by many. He will be sorely missed.
A Celebration of life to be held in Woolford, Maryland on Sept 9, 3pm.