Memorials
This page is dedicated to honoring the memories of our classmates who have passed away. If you know of a classmate who has passed, but not listed here, you may add a new memorial and a photo by clicking the Add Memorial button. You may also write a tribute or leave comments about those already listed on the page. Most published obituaries have been edited for length.
Vickie Tressler (Aldinger)
Birth Date:
1955-07-26
Graduation year:
1974
Deceased Date:
2022-01-31
Obituary:
Vickie Lou Tressler, 66, passed away unexpectedly January 31, 2022, in Topeka, Kansas.
She was born in Gothenburg, Nebraska, and grew up with two brothers and two sisters, Timothy, Michael, Mickie Sue, and Lazon. She graduated high school from Arapahoe High School in Littleton, Colorado. Vickie had one daughter, Darvana Hassie Elizabeth Tressler. She survives her in death as well as her partner, Andy Derry, and his children. Vickie was preceded in death by her late husband Kevin Tressler.
Vickie Lou Tressler, 66, passed away unexpectedly January 31, 2022, in Topeka, Kansas.
She was born in Gothenburg, Nebraska, and grew up with two brothers and two sisters, Timothy, Michael, Mickie Sue, and Lazon. She graduated high school from Arapahoe High School in Littleton, Colorado. Vickie had one daughter, Darvana Hassie Elizabeth Tressler. She survives her in death as well as her partner, Andy Derry, and his children. Vickie was preceded in death by her late husband Kevin Tressler.
There are currently no tributes.
Wilbur Antelope
Birth Date:
1958-09-23
Deceased Date:
2020-10-24
Obituary:
Note: We recently learned Wilbur Antelope, the Northern Arapaho artist who created the current Warrior mascot, passed away. This memorial is posted in his honor.
Wilbur Antelope, 62, of Riverton, Wyoming, passed away at his home on October 24, 2020. A wake was held October 28, 2020, at 1424 17 Mile Road in Arapahoe followed by a graveside ceremony the following day at Friday Cemetery.
Wilbur Paul Antelope was born September 23, 1958, in Riverton to Stewart and Doris (Antelope) Oldman. He was a member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe. His native name was Eagle Man, which was passed down to him by his Grandpa James Washington.
Wilbur received an honorary art diploma from Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado, where he was recognized with an award for drawing the school mascot, The Spirit of the Arapaho Warrior.
On December 2, 1981, Wilbur married Antonia Lujan in Riverton. They were married for more than 38 years and raised their large family on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming.
When he was younger, Wilbur loved playing basketball, but his primary pleasure in life was creating artwork for many different groups. Wilbur considered it a blessing to support himself and his family through the sale of his art.
Wilbur was a traditional man who helped the people through his traditional healing ways. He liked to attend peyote meetings and sweats regularly.
Wilbur is survived by his wife, Antonia Antelope; daughters, Deanna Lujan, Elicia Antelope, Yolanda Antelope, Mary Blackburn, Hannah Anderson, Autumn Wallowing Bull, Venessa Behan, and Alana Brown; sons, James Blackburn, Peter “Homer” Blackburn, Brent Gould, Brandon Gould, Gilburt Demartaine, and Robert C’Bearing; as well as many other family members.
Note: We recently learned Wilbur Antelope, the Northern Arapaho artist who created the current Warrior mascot, passed away. This memorial is posted in his honor.
Wilbur Antelope, 62, of Riverton, Wyoming, passed away at his home on October 24, 2020. A wake was held October 28, 2020, at 1424 17 Mile Road in Arapahoe followed by a graveside ceremony the following day at Friday Cemetery.
Wilbur Paul Antelope was born September 23, 1958, in Riverton to Stewart and Doris (Antelope) Oldman. He was a member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe. His native name was Eagle Man, which was passed down to him by his Grandpa James Washington.
Wilbur received an honorary art diploma from Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado, where he was recognized with an award for drawing the school mascot, The Spirit of the Arapaho Warrior.
On December 2, 1981, Wilbur married Antonia Lujan in Riverton. They were married for more than 38 years and raised their large family on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming.
When he was younger, Wilbur loved playing basketball, but his primary pleasure in life was creating artwork for many different groups. Wilbur considered it a blessing to support himself and his family through the sale of his art.
Wilbur was a traditional man who helped the people through his traditional healing ways. He liked to attend peyote meetings and sweats regularly.
Wilbur is survived by his wife, Antonia Antelope; daughters, Deanna Lujan, Elicia Antelope, Yolanda Antelope, Mary Blackburn, Hannah Anderson, Autumn Wallowing Bull, Venessa Behan, and Alana Brown; sons, James Blackburn, Peter “Homer” Blackburn, Brent Gould, Brandon Gould, Gilburt Demartaine, and Robert C’Bearing; as well as many other family members.
There are currently no tributes.
Scott Barker
Birth Date:
1956-08-29
Graduation year:
1974
Deceased Date:
1998-07-25
Obituary:
Scott was born August 29, 1956, in Colorado Springs, and died July 25, 1998, in Anchorage, Alaska.
Scott was born August 29, 1956, in Colorado Springs, and died July 25, 1998, in Anchorage, Alaska.
There are currently no tributes.
Daniel Bellas
Graduation year:
1974
Obituary:
Daniel James Bellas was born in April 1956 and passed in August 2017 as the result of serious illness. AHS classmates who knew Dan have shared that he was a pilot for People Express Airlines and had a very successful ceramic business.
Daniel James Bellas was born in April 1956 and passed in August 2017 as the result of serious illness. AHS classmates who knew Dan have shared that he was a pilot for People Express Airlines and had a very successful ceramic business.
Scott Harding
- July 31st, 2024
I didn’t know Danny all that well. He was a face and a name recognizable to me among many that roamed the halls and classrooms of AHS. It wasn’t until after I took flight training as a PE class at CU that I re-acquainted myself with Danny. Having used up all my PE class allotted flight time, I stopped by Jefferson County airport in Broomfield (now Rock Mountain Metropolitan Airport - BJC) looking for a flight school to continue my training and stumbled across Danny. I have to say I was surprised to find Danny in a flight school setting offering flight training. I had never realized from our limited interactions at AHS, that Danny had an interest in aviation. We flew several flights polishing up my stick & rudder skills and doing cross country work before I ran out of money for flight training (a common occurrence back then) and shortly thereafter, found myself in Houston. It wasn’t until I found the website for reunion that I found out that Danny had passed. Saddened and curious to know more, I did what we all do, I Google him – I found out he was quite the entrepreneur with several businesses in aviation and ceramics. Having found Danny years ago in that flight school at Jeffco I realized I had gotten the chance to see him in the early days of his entrepreneurship.
William Benker
Birth Date:
1956-02-27
Graduation year:
1974
Deceased Date:
2015-11-26
Obituary:
(The following is an edited version of the obituary/eulogy Bill wrote himself.)
William “Tiny” John Benker of Thornton was born on February 27, 1956, at St. Luke's Hospital, Denver, Colorado. He passed away on November 26, 2015.
Bill grew up in South Denver then moved with his parents to a new home in Littleton. His lower education days were all spent in Littleton, where he graduated from Arapahoe High School. Bill participated in and enjoyed playing football, basketball, baseball, and track and field. He also was a member of the concert choir and first discovered his love of design and drafting while at Arapahoe.
After graduation Bill started his work career at Storage Technology in 1975. He spent 20 years there, achieved two U.S. Patents, and met the love of his life, Gail, whom he later married. He also worked in the Boulder area at two other companies, Exabyte and Micro Motion.
During his years at Storage Tech Bill enjoyed country music and became close with a local country band named Dawson. Band members dubbed him “Tiny”, a nickname many associated with Bill for the rest of his life. He enjoyed golf, playing and coaching softball. Bill also loved the outdoors and went camping and fishing in the mountains as much as possible.
Bill and Gail had three children, daughter Karie, and sons Chris and Sean.
After 30 years of mechanical design, Bill "got tired of ridiculous deadlines and outrageous overtime", so left the engineering field to work at an Ace Hardware near where his home. He became a manager and thoroughly enjoyed playing Santa Claus at the store during the Christmas season.
Bill retired in March of 2012.
(The following is an edited version of the obituary/eulogy Bill wrote himself.)
William “Tiny” John Benker of Thornton was born on February 27, 1956, at St. Luke's Hospital, Denver, Colorado. He passed away on November 26, 2015.
Bill grew up in South Denver then moved with his parents to a new home in Littleton. His lower education days were all spent in Littleton, where he graduated from Arapahoe High School. Bill participated in and enjoyed playing football, basketball, baseball, and track and field. He also was a member of the concert choir and first discovered his love of design and drafting while at Arapahoe.
After graduation Bill started his work career at Storage Technology in 1975. He spent 20 years there, achieved two U.S. Patents, and met the love of his life, Gail, whom he later married. He also worked in the Boulder area at two other companies, Exabyte and Micro Motion.
During his years at Storage Tech Bill enjoyed country music and became close with a local country band named Dawson. Band members dubbed him “Tiny”, a nickname many associated with Bill for the rest of his life. He enjoyed golf, playing and coaching softball. Bill also loved the outdoors and went camping and fishing in the mountains as much as possible.
Bill and Gail had three children, daughter Karie, and sons Chris and Sean.
After 30 years of mechanical design, Bill "got tired of ridiculous deadlines and outrageous overtime", so left the engineering field to work at an Ace Hardware near where his home. He became a manager and thoroughly enjoyed playing Santa Claus at the store during the Christmas season.
Bill retired in March of 2012.
There are currently no tributes.
Rich Bertha
Birth Date:
1956-07-11
Graduation year:
1974
Deceased Date:
2017-04-06
Obituary:
Richard Robert "Richie" Bertha passed away peacefully on April 6, 2017. Richard was born on July 11, 1956, in Hoven, South Dakota.
Richard was a caring and loving son, brother, uncle, and friend. He has left us, but will always be in our hearts. Richard's positive outlook on life will remain an inspiration to us all.
Richard's favorite hobbies were playing cribbage, bingo, and card games; traveling with family, watching forensic TV shows, spending time with family, cheering on the Rockies and the Broncos, and complimenting those around him.
Despite a life of pain and struggle, Richard maintained a positive outlook and only saw the good in all things and all people.
A memorial service was held at Horan & McConaty, 1091 S. Colorado Blvd. (at Mississippi) Denver CO.
Richard Robert "Richie" Bertha passed away peacefully on April 6, 2017. Richard was born on July 11, 1956, in Hoven, South Dakota.
Richard was a caring and loving son, brother, uncle, and friend. He has left us, but will always be in our hearts. Richard's positive outlook on life will remain an inspiration to us all.
Richard's favorite hobbies were playing cribbage, bingo, and card games; traveling with family, watching forensic TV shows, spending time with family, cheering on the Rockies and the Broncos, and complimenting those around him.
Despite a life of pain and struggle, Richard maintained a positive outlook and only saw the good in all things and all people.
A memorial service was held at Horan & McConaty, 1091 S. Colorado Blvd. (at Mississippi) Denver CO.
There are currently no tributes.
Norman Bertsch
Graduation year:
1974
Obituary:
Norman John Bertsch was born July 24, 1956, and passed away March 27, 1998, in San Diego, California.
Norman John Bertsch was born July 24, 1956, and passed away March 27, 1998, in San Diego, California.
There are currently no tributes.
John Blake
Graduation year:
1974
Obituary:
John William Blake was born in January 1956 and passed away in July 1987.
John William Blake was born in January 1956 and passed away in July 1987.
There are currently no tributes.
Greg Bowers
Graduation year:
1974
Obituary:
Gregory Alan Bowers of Rocklin, California, passed away June 30, 2022.
Gregory Alan Bowers of Rocklin, California, passed away June 30, 2022.
Joyce Shimetz
- July 27th, 2024
Greg lived across the street from me. My family moved to the neighborhood when I was 14 so we "grew up" together. Our neighborhood had a lot of kids our age so it was a build in friendship group that lasted for many years. Greg moved to California and I attended his wedding. Greg and I would chat from time to time to catch up. I was very sad to hear that he had passed.
Cynthia Winchell (Brandhorst)
Graduation year:
1974
Obituary:
Cynthia Kay (Brandhorst) Winchell passed away in Arapahoe County in January 2005.
Cynthia Kay (Brandhorst) Winchell passed away in Arapahoe County in January 2005.
There are currently no tributes.