Edward Lawrence Fogle

Edward L. Fogle, a devoted husband, father, and grandfather; a loyal friend; an accomplished and trusted Colorado investment banker; and a dedicated alumnus and supporter of the University of Colorado; passed away peacefully in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, on June 30, 2022, at the age of 91.

Ed started his life in a tight New York family. Born in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York, to Bernard and Muriel Fogle, he and his parents lived in an apartment building owned by Ed’s uncle, together with Ed’s cousins, Shirley and Roslyn, who walked him to school every day. Ed’s love of sports started with him cheering for the Brooklyn Dodgers, listening to the games at Ebbets field on the radio during the era when Babe Ruth was the team’s first-base coach.

As a young teenager, Ed dedicated himself to Scouting, spending several seven-week summers at Boy Scout Camp in New York learning many skills and proudly earning the highest rank of Eagle Scout at the age of 14. Ed actively lived the values of an Eagle Scout throughout the rest of his life.

At 13, Ed suffered the loss of his mother. Ed’s immediate New York family later expanded when Ed’s father married Medora Cruser, and they gave Ed his “kid brother” Barney the following year. While he was in the 7th grade, Ed’s family moved to Island Park, New York (Long Island). While attending Public School 184, he discovered a deep interest in cameras, film, and the rapidly developing technology of photography as the school newspaper’s photographer. At Oceanside High School during the World War II years, he took advantage of his long legs to run track (specializing in the mile run), and he utilized his innate credibility and humor as an actor in several school plays.

After graduating from Oceanside High School in 1948, Ed chose to serve his county in the U.S. Air Force from 1948-1952 during the Korean War. Utilizing his interest and skills in the emerging technology of photography, Ed served as an aerial reconnaissance photographer using large cameras to photograph and map targets aboard the massive B-36 “Peacekeeper,” the largest bomber in the U.S. Strategic Air Command. While training for this role, the Air Force first sent him to Travis Air Force Base near Vallejo, California. During off-hours, he and his fellow airmen enrolled in the local junior college, where he earned a few initial college credits while serving the primary objective of meeting girls at the campus. Ed then spent time at photography school at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver.

Finally, he was assigned to serve on the B-36 crews at Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, South Dakota, where he not only developed the pictures he took during long and cold intercontinental flights at extremely high altitudes over the Soviet Union and the Far East (taking off on Mondays and landing on Wednesdays), but where he also warmed up to and developed a life-long loving relationship with Beverly Storm, a beautiful, petite girl from Rapid City who had an altitude of 5’4”. The two met at a roller-skating rink, and after a few times around the roller rink, the 6’4” Eddie and 5’4” Bev “only had eyes” for each other. Ed and Bev married in July 1952 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Rapid City. The newlyweds honeymooned in Denver and, like many veterans who trained in Denver, decided to settle in and build their lives and family in Denver.

Ed’s Air Force service launched him from his childhood in New York to his adulthood in Colorado, where he launched his many family, academic, and professional accomplishments. As Denver was booming in the 1950s, Ed and Bev both took on jobs, with Ed combining his photography skills and entrepreneurial spirit to found Lakewood Camera Center on West Colfax and Bev working as a secretary for United Airlines. After a decade of work in sales, Ed later resumed his college education on the G.I Bill as a 33-year-old freshman and earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business from the University of Colorado in 1967, followed by his MBA from CU in 1968. During these years, Ed and Bev loved to attend the CU Football games. They became lifelong Buffs fans, donors, and season ticket holders, and Ed served as an officer of the Denver Buff Club.

In 1968, with his MBA in hand and his substantial experience in sales, Ed launched his banking career at the United Bank of Denver, and built many long-lasting client relationships with both individual and institutional investors. Over the next 43 years, as the bank changed its name from United Bank to Norwest to Wells Fargo, Ed primarily sold municipal bonds that provided critical financial support to countless infrastructure and recreation projects throughout Colorado. Mixing his warmth with his wit and helping many get their first jobs on the teller line at the bank, Ed became a well-known and well-loved fixture at the Bank’s location in Denver’s iconic “Cash Register” building. Ed’s devoted personal service to his clients transformed most of his clients into close personal friends who trusted Ed’s guidance with more than just their investments. Because he loved his job and his clients, he did not retire until his 80th birthday.

Ed’s primary passion, however, was his family. In their early years together, Ed and Bev exploited Bev’s free airline passes while working for United Airlines and adventured together to Europe, Hawaii and many other places on United’s new jet-powered DC-8s, Boeing 727s and Boeing 747-100. In 1973, after 20 years of marriage, Ed and Bev adventured into parenthood with the birth of their daughter, Nancy, the joy of their lives. From then on, it was the three of them. Living in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, they attended Holy Cross Lutheran Church, where Ed frequently served as a teller counting the weekly offerings. Always looking out for Bev and Nancy while Nancy was in school, Ed enjoyed golf, skiing, and anything Nancy wanted to do, including SCUBA diving (earning his SCUBA certification with Nancy in bone-chilling and murky October waters of Chatfield Reservoir). Ed shared his love for travel and CU with Bev and Nancy by setting up trips for nearly every school break, tailgating at CU Football games (home and away), taking cruises, and traveling to cheer on the Buffs at several CU Bowl games, including the 1991 Orange Bowl in Miami where CU won the National Championship.

In 1995, just after Nancy graduated from college, Ed and Nancy were devastated by their loss of Bev after her long battle with breast cancer. After losing the love of his life and wife of 43 years, Ed worked bravely to support Nancy as she entered law school and started her career and her own family. Ed made sure to have a call with Nancy every day and was always available whenever Nancy needed him.

In 1997, Ed proudly walked Nancy down the aisle as she married Brad Dempsey. Ed helped Nancy and Brad move into their first home, and with extreme joy, Ed enthusiastically took on the role of grandpa when his grandchildren Camden (2003) and Margaux (2006) were born. Ed - “Grandpa” - was their first and most frequent babysitter, and he fueled their interest in Scouting and love for CU, CU Football, and family travel.

Retiring from Wells Fargo at age 80, Ed took on his grandkids as his primary clients and put them into an aggressive portfolio of world travel and learning about other cultures. Brandishing his passport, Ed eagerly boarded airplanes and cruise ships with Nancy, Brad, Camden, and Margaux to explore Italy, France, Spain, Great Britain, Monaco, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Greece, Turkey, Croatia, as well as an adventure to Australia and many trips to Hawaii. He was always game for any travel itinerary.

In addition to travel, Ed supported Nancy and Brad and invested everything into his grandkids’ lives by attending nearly every band concert, swim meet, football game, birthday party, and countless other events. He was always there. Along with Brad, Ed showed both Camden and Margaux the path to Eagle Scout. (He celebrated with Margaux just last month as she earned her Eagle rank.) When Camden graduated from high school, Ed was thrilled to learn that Camden would play football at CU and follow in his footsteps in attending the CU Leeds School of Business.

For nearly all his life, Ed was fortunate to live in terrific health, and until the last year, he lived independently in the home he built in Wheat Ridge with Bev and Nancy in the late 1980s. Ed loved reading books from the local library, studying biblical archeology, listening to his old-school music on his vinyl records, evading the dentist, sleeping late, enjoying a Wendy’s Frosty and any other ice cream concoction, maintaining a selection of candy in his jacket pockets to share with anyone with him, striking up conversations with strangers in elevators, occupying hot tubs, avoiding seafood, reading the Wall Street Journal every day, coaxing his grandkids to sleep with stories he made up about a pair of silly turtles, traveling on airplanes in a suit and tie, singing memorized satirical Tom Lehrer songs, authoring comical poems (such as “I want to die with dirty teeth” – as a protest against going to the dentist), flying kites off the back of cruise ships, trying to carry the heaviest suitcases of his fellow travelers (even into his late 80s), eating Taco Bell tacos when the Colorado Rockies scored seven runs, holding doors open for everyone even if awkward to do so, scaling old rickety ladders on hot days to do maintenance on his second-story roof (particularly when told not to do so), cultivating an epic wardrobe of black and gold clothes and curating a museum of stuffed-toy buffalos and 60 years of CU memorabilia, eating milk-drenched Oreos, deriding the Nebraska football team and anyone wearing red, making his own ice cubes for more than a decade rather than get his automatic ice machine fixed, eating a Big Mac with fries and a Coke, snubbing online banking, and driving big gold Cadillacs.

In his last few years, Ed lived comfortably thanks to the devoted care of his family and support provided by several incredible caregivers. Despite his dementia, he was always fully engaged in every conversation, and he never lost his incredibly warm and witty sense of humor. When his nurses and caregivers asked how he was feeling, Ed consistently teased with a twinkle in his eye, “With my fingers.”

Ed is survived by Nancy, Brad, Camden, and Margaux; the other members of his loving family; and a venerable host of friends and colleagues.

Visitation will be held at Olinger Crown Hill Chapel of Peace, 7777 W. 29th Ave., Wheat Ridge, on Thursday, July 14, from 4-7 p.m.

Ed’s Funeral Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, July 15, 2022, at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, 4500 Wadsworth Blvd., Wheat Ridge. Significant construction on Wadsworth impacts access to the church, and additional travel time is recommended. Check the church’s website for advice on accessing the church parking lot. https://www.holycrosswheatridge.org

The service will be viewable live and after the service at

https://livestream.com/loclyzmedia/edwardfoglememorial

Interment at 12pm at Crown Hill Cemetery

Reception to follow at 1pm at The Club at Rolling Hills (15707 W 26th Ave., Golden).

Notes of condolence may be sent to:

Nancy and Brad Dempsey

13468 W. 61st Place

Arvada CO 80004

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you donate to one or more of the following:

• Holy Cross Lutheran Church (in memory of Edward L. Fogle)

• Credit Card Contributions can be made online at https://www.holycrosswheatridge.org/

• Checks can be sent to

4500 Wadsworth Blvd

Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 US

• The University of Colorado Foundation (in memory of Edward L. Fogle’ 68)

• Team of Champions Endowment Fund: To provide support for a football scholarship at the University of Colorado Boulder with a preference for a former walk-on student athlete.

• Credit Card: https://giving.cu.edu/fund/team-champions-endowment-fund

• The Ralphie Endowment: To provide support for the cost of housing, caring for and handling Ralphie, the mascot buffalo used by the University of Colorado Athletics Department.

• Credit Card: https://giving.cu.edu/fund/ralphie-endowment

• Checks may also be sent to the University of Colorado Foundation. To ensure your gift is credited according to your wishes, add the following information in the memo section of your check: Gift in memory of Edward L. Fogle ’68 and for:

Team of Champions Fund #0151014

or

Ralphie Endowment #0154173

Mail checks to:

University of Colorado Foundation

P.O. Box 17126

Denver, CO 80217-9155