United States High School Yearbooks by County
Ben Morton
Former Leadville resident Ben Morton died Feb. 11 at Denver
Health Medical Center.
Morton is survived by his wife Denise, Denver; brother Roger
and family, Seattle, Wash.; and mother Justine Fisher,
Greenville, S.C.
Paul Lambur Arndt
Paul Lambur Arndt, 77, died March 5, 2004, at Copper
Mountain Medical Center while doing what he loved best;
Arndt became unconscious while riding the chairlift at Copper
Mountain, and likely suffered a heart attack.
Arndt was born Sept. 16, 1926, to Paul and Emily Arndt in
Moberly, Mo.
The son of a Lutheran minister, he grew up in New Jersey
reading books about the Old West and dreaming of living it.
At 18, he was drafted into the Army and was part of the
occupation force in Japan, where he learned to appreciate
the sword, the bow, and cultural diversity.
Upon his return to the United States, Arndt attended
Michigan State University and earned a degree in forestry
around 1950. Shortly after graduation, he was working
cleaning off television tubes for GE and heard about a job
packing food and supplies up Tuckerman’s Ravine in New
Hampshire. He didn’t mind the job packing 60 pound loads
up the Ravine for it was a chance to be outdoors and do
some skiing.
His next several years were busy and included such jobs as
counting trees and surveying land in a forestry capacity,
camp counselor, salvaging timbers from the mines in Aspen,
and ski instructing.
He did some instructing in Aspen, but one of his more
memorable jobs involved teaching at the Otsego Ski Club in
Gaylord, Mich., which was owned by the Ford Motor
Company. The group of kids he taught were nicknamed
“Bud’s Beavers” and included six-year-old Edsel Ford. Around
that time, Arndt needed transportation as he was traveling
frequently between Aspen and Michigan, so he bought a late
1940s model Crown Imperial Chrysler from Chuck Weller,
then engineer for White River National Forest. The car had
been owned previously by the Boettchers, and he got it for
$350.
In the 1950s, Arndt moved his home base further west, and
began teaching skiing at Arapahoe Basin where he met his
future wife while helping a pretty girl onto the chairlift.
Barbara Edwards and Paul Arndt were married in Denver on
Oct. 25, 1962.
During this time, he spent some summers leading NOLS
(National Outdoor Leadership School) courses in Lander,
Wyo., where he very much enjoyed the friendship of Paul
Petzoldt. Benjamin Paul Arndt was born July 14, 1964, while
Arndt was in Wind Rivers in Wyoming.
After his son’s birth, Arndt began his school-teaching career,
and the family resided in Minturn for a year while he taught
school in Redcliff. The following year he got a teaching job in
Leadville where he taught for the next 22 years.
In the late 1960s, Arndt took some time off and returned to
school himself; he earned his master’s degree in education
from Adams State College in Alamosa and published his
outdoor teaching ideas in a national publication. He used his
outdoor teaching skills to inspire and motivate the next
generation with his “non-traditional” approach.
As his son grew older, they spent numerous summers with
Barbara backpacking, looking for Indian ruins, and exploring
the West. Arndt became involved in Mountain Man
Rendezvous’ and developed so much proficiency in tanning
hides, making buckskin clothes, making bows and arrows,
shooting muzzle loaders, and throwing tomahawks that he
started to teach others these skills. These mini educational
seminars were one of his great joys in later life.
In the mid-1970s, Arndt and his son were trying to teach
themselves the art of telemark skiing, but were asked to
leave the ski area at Arapahoe Basin by a ski patroller
because they were on skinny cross country skis. In spite of
this setback, his passion for telemarking grew, and he never
went back to alpine skis.
Paul Arndt is survived by his wife Barbara Arndt, Leadville;
son Ben (Leslie) Arndt, Golden; grandson Justin Bridger
Arndt, Golden; and Uncle Edward Arndt, Pensacola, Fla.
He has left behind a legacy of lifelong learning and a passion
for teaching, the outdoors, and life. His passing has left an
empty space in the hearts of his family and friends.
Donations can be made in lieu of flowers to the Lake County
School District, 107 Spruce St., Leadville, CO 80461, to
support science and outdoor education.
Arrangements are handled by Bailey Funeral Home.
Lonnie Devonne Goodwin
Lonnie Devonne Goodwin, 71, of Leadville, died in Heart of
the Rockies Regional Medical Center in Salida on March 12,
2004.
He was born on Dec. 25, 1932, in Hotchkiss, Colo., to Oley
and Myrtle Goodwin.
Goodwin served in the U.S. Air Force as an Airman First
Class in the Korean War. He married Nadine Nagel on July 4,
1957, in the old Presbyterian Church in Leadville, the union
lasting for 47 years.
Goodwin worked as an electrician at the Climax Molybdenum
Mine for 30 years.
A member of the Odd Fellows and Leadville Rod & Gun Club,
Goodwin loved hunting, fishing, horses and, especially, trap
shooting. He was a friend to everyone he met and helped
everyone who needed it.
Goodwin was preceded in death by his parents.
Goodwin is survived by his wife Nadine Goodwin, Leadville;
daughter Eileen (Mike) Schermann, Leadville; sons Mike
(Rhonda) Goodwin, Bennett, Colo.; and Matt Goodwin,
Denver; sister June (Harry) Smith, Buena Vista; brothers-in-law
Bill (Jan) Nagel, Ryegate, Mont.; and Larry (Candy)
Nagel, Divide; numerous nieces and nephews; ten
grandchildren; and two great grandchildren (with one
pending).
Viewing will be held at Runyan Mortuary in Buena Vista on
Thursday, March 18, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Funeral service will be held on Friday, March 19, at the
Agape Community Fellowship in Buena Vista at 11 a.m.
Interment will follow at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
Memorials may be made to Lonnie Goodwin Memorial Fund
c/o High Country Bank.
Robert E. Gunderman
Robert E. Gunderman, 77, County Road 26, Twin Lakes, died
March 9 in New Smyrna Beach, Fla.
Born in Midland Park, N.J., Gunderman was vacationing in
New Smyrna Beach from Colorado at the time of his death.
Gunderman was a retired sales representative in the
transportation industry and a United States Navy veteran of
WW II. He enjoyed fishing and traveling.
Gunderman is survived by his wife Beverly Gunderman, Twin
Lakes; nieces Elaine (George) Rifenburg, Troy, N.Y.; Jane
(Gary) Slepicka, Reynoldsberg, Ohio; Roberta (Tom) Leaird,
Muncie, Ind.; Betty (Tom) Lescavage, Hasbrouck Heights,
N.J.; Jean Blatt, Hoags Corners, N.Y.; and Linda Gunderman,
Greeley; nephews Richard (Terry) Gunderman, Clifton Park,
N.Y.; Kenny Gunderman, East Greenbush, N.Y.; and Donald
(Jennifer) Gunderman, Cohoes, N.Y.; and numerous great
nieces and nephews.
Visitation, a Masonic service and a committal service were on
March 12 in New Jersey.
The family suggests memorial donations to one’s local
Masonic Lodge or the American Heart Association, 555 W.
Granada Boulevard, Suite A-1, Onnond Beach, FL 32174
Settle-Wilder Funeral Home and Cremation Service, 406 S.
Orange St., New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168 is in charge of
arrangements.
