James Porter "Jim" Englehart

JAMES P. ENGLEHART Memorial services for lifelong area resident James P. Englehart will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, August 28 at the Old High School Auditorium at 7th Street and Chestnut Street. James Porter Englehart passed away on August 21, 2015 at Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez, Colo. He was born August 30, 1932 in Durango, Colo. to Ruth (Porter) and Carl Jacob Englehart. He was 82 years of age. Jim grew up and lived in the Lewis area with his parents, sisters, Laverne and Karla and brothers, Stanton and Chuck. He was known as the middle of the pack kid. He attended school at Lewis and graduated from Cortez High School (now the Cortez Middle School) in 1950. During his high school career he participated in football and baseball all four years. His senior year, he moved to Cortez during the winter to live with his grandmother so that he could play basketball. He played baseball on the same field that is now named after him at the Cortez Middle School. Jim attended Western State College in Gunnison, Colo. on a football scholarship, playing the half-back position. He was also the catcher for the WSC baseball team. In 1953, Jim left college and volunteered for the draft, spending two years in the Army. During that time, for several months while stationed in Japan, Jim played on the company baseball team, traveling the area playing against other military teams as well as a few Japanese teams. After his discharge, Jim returned to WSC in the spring of 1957 to complete his BA degree in Industrial Arts and Physical Education. It was then he met Mary Manette Stegall of Gunnison and they were married June 7, 1958. They moved to Cortez where Jim had completed his first year of teaching. Jim and Mary had two children, Richard and Lynda and the first four summers of their marriage were spent back in Gunnison as Jim worked on and received his Masters Degree in Education. Jim's teaching career consisted of Mechanical Drawing, Architectural Drafting, Power Lifting, and Physical Education. His extra-curricular activities included assistant football coach (2 years), head football coach (7 years), assistant basketball coach (9 years), ski coach (2 years), girl's head basketball coach (3 years), head baseball coach (20 years), department head (21 years) and sponsor of the C-Club. He had the special honor of being able to coach both his son and his daughter in varsity sports. A highlight of his baseball coaching tenure was the 1966 League Championship. After his retirement from teaching in 1989, Jim ventured into sales as a sales representative for Keesee Motors for three years. Jim was a member of MCPERA, CSPERA, a 50+ year member of the Masonic Lodge #133 A.F. & A.M., Cortez First United Methodist Church, and the Montezuma County Historical Society. Jim loved the outdoors and when he wasn't teaching or coaching you could find him fishing, hunting, golfing, working in the hay field or in the garden or in the mountains, hiking. Jim was preceded in death by his parents; and by his brother, Stanton Englehart. He is survived by his loving wife, Mary of 57 years; son, Richard Englehart (Cristie); daughter, Lynda Englehart (Andrea Reed); grandsons, RJ Englehart (Rachel), and Curtis Englehart (Sara); and great-granddaughters, Lauren Kay, Elly Emma, Ava Kate and Addley Hope. To quote and article about Jim written in 1999 by former Activities Director, Brad Jones "Those of you who don't know him have missed an extraordinary experienceEnglehart is a very humble man who set a wonderful example for thousands of young people during his time at the high school." Memorial contributions can be made in memory of James P. Englehart to Cortez First United Methodist Church Memorial Committee; Vista Mesa Assisted Living Facility; or to Alzheimers Association Colorado Chapter, 455 Sherman Street Ste. 500, Denver, Colo. 80203-4405.