Harold W. Emrich, age 92, peacefully passed away on March 27, 2020, at Mercy Hospice in Durango, CO from complications with Alzheimer's Disease. He was born in Columbus, Ohio in 1927.
Harold served in the Army. He was stationed in the Philippines intercepting war time messages and forwarding them via teletype to the US for decoding. After the service, Harold attended Ohio State University where he graduated with a degree in Ceramic Engineering. While going to college, he met his future wife Vivian. They married during Harold's senior year. After graduation, Harold and Vivian moved to Denver where he enjoyed a dedicated career at Denver Brick and Pipe Company. He started working in the lab and after many years became the President, overseeing many new innovations.
Hal's passion was his family. He made every effort to put his family first and spend quality time with them. He was involved in many clubs and activities with his children when they were growing up. When Grandchildren arrived, he loved horsing around and playing with all his grandsons. He enjoyed camping, fishing, hiking, and cross country skiing and was a die-hard Bronco fan and season ticket holder from the beginning.
Always a creative person, he enjoyed many hobbies, including landscaping, ceramics and his train set. Each house the family lived in, Hal designed and constructed a water fountain. With each house, they got more complex, with his final 'mountain' waterfall and stream in the Durango home, he and Vivian designed. In his later years, he pursued his love of ceramics working on his glazes, new techniques and creating beautiful pottery. He loved his workshop where he also set up his LGB train line to run around the workshop and family room. For birthdays and Christmas his family could count on him to provide a list of accessories to support his multiple hobbies.
Survivors are sons Steve (Beth) and Scott (Mary El) Emrich, Durango, daughter Sandy Emrich (Allen) Brock, Littleton, CO, 8 grandsons and 6 great grandchildren.Harold was predeceased by his wife of 62 years, Vivian Emrich and daughter, Susie Otten, Denver.
Contributions can be made to:Hospice of Mercy https://www.centura.org/locations/mercy-regional-medical-center/medical-services/mercy-hospice-house;or the National Park Foundation https://donate.nationalparks.org
Services for Harold are currently pending.