John Alvin Tracy

AKA “Poppy” and “Gramps”

John Alvin Tracy, the eldest of ten siblings, was born to Jack and Verna Tracy in St. Joseph, Missouri, on November 8, 1934, and lived a full and truly remarkable life for over 87 years. John passed away on Friday, May 13, 2022, in Boulder Colorado, peacefully, worry free, and comfortable, with family by his bedside.

John spent a good portion of his childhood in St. Joseph, Missouri before moving to Fort Dodge, Iowa in 1946 (at the age of 12). After finishing high school and graduating from Corpus Christi Academy in 1952, John elected to continue his education, starting at Iowa State University, before transferring to Creighton University where he earned his undergraduate degree in accounting. During one of John’s visits back to Fort Dodge while attending Creighton University, John met his future wife, Fay Carol Jeffries, whom he married on September 3rd, 1955, in Fort Dodge.

Subsequent to graduating from Creighton University in 1956, John spent a couple of years working for a large public accounting firm, Arthur Young (now Ernst & Young), before deciding to return to college where he attended the University of Wisconsin, earning his MBA and Ph.D. from the Wisconsin School of Business (in 1960 and 1961 respectively). He began his academic career at the University of California Berkeley in the College of Commerce (now the Haas College of Business) where he taught for four years.

In 1965, John and his late wife Fay, packed up the family of 5 children (Mary, John, Cris, Jackie, and Tage), loaded the Family Truckster, and laid their eyes on moving to Boulder, Colorado where John and Fay spent the rest of their lives. John accepted a research and teaching position in the Accounting Department in the School of Business at the University of Colorado in 1965. For the next 35 years until his retirement in 2000 as an award-winning professor emeritus, John pursued his passion in education with an unparalleled dedication and commitment covering a wide range of topics ranging from entry level accounting concepts to graduate level business courses.

But John was not just a teacher as he was elected Faculty Council Chairman in 1976, served on the Athletic Oversight Committee in the early 1980’s, and was also Chair of Accounting in the School of Business at Colorado University. His devotion to the accounting profession as well as the University of Colorado were equally strong. Further and somehow finding the time during his remarkable professional career, he authored or co-authored over a dozen financial planning and accounting books which have been published around the globe and are often considered the gold standard with the subject matter presented.

John was married to Fay Carol Tracy, his late wife (who passed away in August 2017), lifelong companion, and love of his life for just shy of 62 incredible years that witnessed both John and Fay pursuing their never-ending dreams, hand in hand, always together, be it physically or spiritually, to share the journey. Even after Fay’s passing, John continued their journey for just shy of 5 more years, knowing that someday Fay would be greeting John to usher him to their next adventure and to implore him (as only she could do) as to what had transpired since her departure. John, being such an eloquent storyteller replies, “My love, as I’m sure you already know, we welcomed 5 new members to the family via marriages and one beautiful new great-grandson, Little John. I’m sure you would be so proud of our grandchildren, their spouses, and LJ as they’ve grown so much, from the foundation you established and root of life you laid.” Fay, gently reaching out to John with her hand, leading John forward as he exits this life, responds with a simple expression of joy and elation, that only two reuniting soulmates can comprehend.

John was a man of deep faith and was a devoted member of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Boulder (from 1965 until his death), were he and his wife Fay met countless lifelong friends. John loved traveling, writing, jogging, and socializing with many close friends, as well as attending community activities (if you call going to the greyhound races an activity, just kidding) and held a particularly deep passion and relished his role as being a grandfather to 12 grandchildren (ranging from 18 to 37 years old) and more recently, 1 greatgrandchild (6 months old). There is no way that we can ever quantify or measure the support he extended to each and every one of his 5 children and 12 grandchildren over the years, other than by knowing that no matter what the circumstance, John was always there, ready to help, without hesitation, offering his unconditional love to his family at all times. A true patriarch in every definition of the word, to not only his direct family but to his extended family that spanned the country, Gramps, Dad, or Uncle John (as he was known by his nieces and nephews) represents an irreplaceable rock.

John is survived by 8 living siblings, 5 children, Mary, John, Cris, Jackie, and Tage, 12 grandchildren, Alex, Ryan, Mitchel, Paige, Katrina, Claire, Eric, Mackenzie, Madison, Tanner, Karsen, and Brody, and one greatgrandchild, Little John. As our family says goodbye to our beloved dad, Poppy, best friend, educator, mentor, and social butterfly, we must remember that although he has moved on from this life, he will forever be in our hearts and memories. You will be tremendously missed and never, ever forgotten. Love Always – Your Family!

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