Douglas Ivan Gifford

1934 - 2019

Douglas Ivan Gifford

Lafayette, CO - Douglas Ivan Gifford went home to be with His Lord and Savior surrounded by family at his home in Lafayette, CO on June 29, 2019. He was 85 years old. Doug was born to Helena Mary Gifford and Ralph Holder Gifford in Hartford, Connecticut on March 13, 1934. The family moved to a farm in Hiawatha, N. J. during World War II. They moved to a farm in Port Norris, N.J., where Doug graduated from Millville High School in 1952. He joined the United States Air Force in 1952 and served in all major conflicts from the Korean War to Desert Storm. He attended Colorado State University where he met the love of his life Gerry Kennedy and they were married on August 25, 1962, at the First Baptist Church in Broomfield, CO. Doug received his B.S. in Education in 1963 from CSU and taught physics at Bridgeton High School in Bridgeton, N.J. He and Gerry served the Lord Jesus Christ ministering to youth in Bridgeton and Penns Grove, N.J., before moving back to Broomfield, CO in 1968. He received his Masters Degree in Education Administration from CSU in 1970. Doug worked for Colorado Department of Occupational Education and Veteran's Affairs until his retirement in 1988. He and Gerry moved to Boulder in 1974 where they taught youth at Southern Hills Baptist Church and East Boulder Baptist Church. After they retired, Doug and Gerry moved to Kenya where they served as missionaries and taught high school in Maralel and Nyeri. He continued to travel to Kenya and work in orphanages until his death. He retired from Wyoming National Guard in 1992 and worked hard to help veterans. Doug was a mechanic by trade and was always fixing things. Doug worked as a substitute teacher in Special Education for Boulder Valley School District well into his eighties. He was a member and officer of Gideon's International Boulder and Long Peaks Camps. Doug's motto was "you are loved" and he prayed faithfully every day for his family and friends. He loved His Lord and family. He is survived by his wife Gerry and daughter Mary and husband Andrew O'Connor of Lafayette, CO; daughter T.G. (Gayle) and husband Jim Powell of Lorton, VA; son David Kevin Gifford and wife Sunny of Monrovia, MD and daughter Danielle and husband Mitch Breedlove of Salem, OR and grandchildren Griffen Henry and Teagan O'Connor, Robert, Elizabeth and Danny Powell, Jackson and Grace Gifford and Connor, James and Amy Breedlove.

Contributions can be made to Gideon's International or Into Abbas Arms Orphanage or Global Hope Orphanage in Kenya. A memorial service was held on July 9, 2019, at 11 am, at East Boulder Baptist Church, 7690 Baseline Road, Boulder, CO 80303.