Jay Verzuh would be proud to be remembered as an avid outdoorsman who was successful creating a business around his passions. His family and friends also remember him as much more; a loyal friend, devoted husband, supportive father, and a strong older brother. Jay was a big hearted person who truly tried to do his best with everyone he knew and loved.
Jay grew up in Gunnison, Colorado. He was raised in the mountains of Crested Butte hunting, fishing, and tending to the family ranch. These times with his family helped to foster his love of being in the woods and the wild. He stayed in Gunnison after graduating high school to ultimately pursue a dual Masters in both Business and Psychology. Upon completion of his education, he moved to Grand Junction, Colorado, to teach high school and work in real estate. It was in Grand Junction that he met his wife of 43 years, Gail, whom he married in 1978. After years of working in these fields he took a risk and established his own business, Colorado Elite, to provide big game outfitting services to people from all over the country.
Through his strong will and determination he grew Colorado Elite into a very successful venture, the foundation of which allowed his family to grow and prosper. It provided him the opportunity to meet a wide swath of people, from those that worked in the industry to others that shared his passions. Many of these introductions turned into lifelong friendships which he cherished.
His hunting skillsets allowed him to write for outdoors magazines, appear on ESPN, and serve on the Hoyt Archery advisory staff as a sponsored archer. He also traveled the country attending hunting conventions, at which he would promote his business and the importance of saving wild spaces through hunting advocacy (always keeping a bottle of Trappey's hot sauce in his briefcase). Jay and his beloved guides hosted hunters in Colorado, Montana, Canada, and Kansas. Through it all he made sure to take the time to hunt for pleasure. He took great pride in harvesting elk with his bow, two of which net scored around 370, and multiple whitetails from Kansas that all scored over 160.
Once Jay “retired” he and Gail lived between Tucson, AZ, Alpine, WY, and their original home in Grand Junction, CO. In these locations they spent time with close friends, explored the outdoors spaces, and enjoyed being in different places. Jay did not slow down until his health worsened this last year. He was surrounded by family and near and dear friends the last month of his life.
Loved ones that cleared the path for Jay are his wife Gail, his parents John and Marge Verzuh, brother-in-law Glen Clark, and friend Dennis Chin. Loved ones that will miss Jay until they meet again are his daughter and her fiancé Tana Verzuh and Cody Wallace; his daughter and son-in-law Loni Verzuh and Alex Young; his siblings Patty and Reg Montgomery and Christine Verzuh, and his in-laws; Larry, Sharon, and Ron. His close friends who supported him through thick and thin; Marv Meyers and his boys, Robbyn, Russ, and Milo Lennon, Doug Lindquist, Randy Walk, Larrie Hazen, K.C Heinrich, Kelly Carter, Carl and Merrill Neilson, Johnny and Amy Walker, and his neighborhood superstars Jason, Ryan, and Doug. And many more friends and family than we could possibly name. As Jay would have said, “Holy shit what a ride.”
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