John Rowland Bergquist

John was born on November 29, 1929 in Lincoln, NE.

Early in his career, John worked at Mutual of Omaha in Omaha, NE, where he met the love of his life, Nancy Jane Black. They married on August 9, 1957. They lived in several communities throughout Nebraska before settling in Loveland, CO in 1969 with daughter Sharon and son John Dean Bergquist.

John and family originally moved to Loveland to become partners in a local bank. When that didn’t work out, John purchased the Antique Auto House, Inc. Through Antique Auto House, John was able to continue his love affair with antique and classic cars and fire trucks. John sold and shipped cars and fire trucks worldwide, with several ending up in world renowned collections, including the Jay Leno collection. At one point he even shipped an entire museum to Hawaii, only to ship it back to the mainland several years later and then sell the cars at the Hollywood Bowl in a collector car auction. During his career, he was a frequent face at the Barrett-Jackson sales in AZ, and was frequently a buyer, seller, or both at car auctions nationwide. His adventures in dealing classic and antique cars are legendary, bringing great memories. John was “Chasing Classic Cars” before it was even called that and was an original “American Picker”. He bought, sold and restored many cars, and had a lifelong affinity for anything with wheels. At the time of his passing, he still had the 1925 REO firetruck that he had purchased in 1955, owning it far longer than the fire department who purchased it new.

John never met a stranger, and everyone who met him left as a friend.

John was a member of many car and fire truck clubs and organizations. He was a founding member of the local chapter of the VMCCA. He was also a Mason for most of his adult life and was a member of the El Jebel Shrine.

Along with his love of cars, John was also a bagpiper. He brought joy and comfort to many through the years playing the pipes. He played as a member of many fire department honor guards across the front range. He was the pipe major for the El Jebel Shrine Bagpipe Band for many years and was awarded as an honorary “Pipe Major Emeritus”.

John was a reservist in the Nebraska State Guard during high school. He then served in United States Army during the Korean war. He was an operating room technician at the Mutsuichikawa Hospital in Japan. He received the Korean Service Medal and the United Nations Service Medal.

He was a loyal member of the First United Presbyterian Church, 1st on 4th, in Loveland.

John is preceded in death by his wife Nancy and infant grandson Michael Rowland Bergquist.

John is survived by his daughter, Sharon Gwen (Paul) Akers and son John Dean (Carol) Bergquist.

Also, John is survived by grandchildren Robin (Chad) Reece, Brandon (Laura) Wren, John L (Alta) Bergquist, Abigail (Jerry) Armstead, Andrea (Adam) Mader, Benjamin (Jayme) Akers, Elizabeth Bergquist and Nicole Bergquist. Great grandchildren are Kaden Wren, Emma Wren, Amiah Armstead, Jalen Armstead, Lucia Bergquist, Emery Akers, and Ezra Mader.

A celebration of John’s life will be held at 1:00pm on Friday, January 13, 2023 at Resthaven Funeral Home in Fort Collins, CO.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the El Jebel S Galena St, Denver, CO STE 250, 80231. (303) 455-3470. www.eljebelshrine.org.

Family and friends may view the obituary online at www.dignitymemorial.com