Wilbur Henry Long

Wilbur “Willy” Henry Long, age 65 years old, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Thursday, February 23, 2023 while under hospice care following complications from a heart attack. Willy was born on December 15, 1957 in Torrington, Wyoming, the son of Calvin and Ethel Long. The family moved many places in the western states, settling in Nebraska in 1973. He attended Arthur High School (1973-1975) and graduated from Morrill High School in 1976. In high school, he was an enthusiastic athlete, receiving multiple awards in football, wrestling, and track, as well as competing in basketball and rodeo. He went to the University of Wyoming on a football scholarship and was part of the 1976 Fiesta Bowl team. In fall 1977, he left the University of Wyoming and joined the family trucking company in Hawk Springs, Wyoming. He then married his high school sweetheart, Christine Cooley, at Holy Apostles Episcopal Church in Mitchell, Nebraska on May 27, 1978. In January of 1980, he returned to college at Chadron State on a football scholarship. At Chadron he played for 3 years and in 2001 was inducted into the Chadron State College Football Hall of fame. He graduated from Chadron in 1983 with a degree in health/physical education (K-12) and Mathematics (secondary). He completed his Masters of Arts in education/curriculum and technology in 2005. His first job out of college was at Alexander Dawson School in Lafayette, Colorado. He then substituted for Aurora Public Schools, coached football for Gateway High School, and taught driver’s ed for AAA. He moved on to manage the District Stadium at Littleton High School in 1985 and managed the drivers’ education program for that District. During this time, he played semi-pro football here in Colorado. In 1990 he started teaching math at Parker Vista Middle school in Parker, Colorado until the 9th grade class was integrated into Ponderosa High School where he taught math and computers. At Ponderosa he was math department head for many years. Over the years he enjoyed coaching many sports including: Littleton High School assistant basketball coach, Parker Vista Middle school head football coach, Sierra Middle school head golf coach, Chaparral High School head boys golf coach, Ponderosa High School Head girls golf coach, assistant boys golf coach, Freshman football coach, Sophomore boys basketball coach, and Freshman girls basketball coach. He retired from teaching in 2012. In 1994 he participated in the building of his family’s home of 28 years in the Elizabeth, Colorado area. He created his own statistics program for football and kept stats for the Ponderosa High School team for 20 years. He also took photographs for and put together many of the sports programs for the high school.

Willy enjoyed playing golf, driving, photography, wood construction, woodworking, and spending time with his grandkids.

Willy is survived by his wife, Chris, of Loveland, Colorado; daughter, Becky (Bryan) Oplinger, of Berthoud, Colorado; son, William (Venessa) Long, of Wiggins, Colorado; brother, Robert (Jeannie) Long, of Shawnee, Oklahoma; three grandchildren (Brooke, Everett, and Parker) and one on the way; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Bill, sister Phyllis and nephew Calvin. Willy will be missed by all that knew him.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in hopes of providing his granddaughter continued health in the future.

A celebration of life will be held for Wilbur (Willy) Henry Long at 11:30am on Saturday, March 11, 2023 at the Allnutt Funeral Home Hunter Chapel in Loveland, Colorado.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.allnuttloveland.com for the Long family.