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CMC’s Balcomb dies in Arizona

Staff Report

Longtime Glenwood Springs resident, Colorado Mountain College professor and CMC board member Dr. Michele Balcomb died Thursday of a heart attack.

Balcomb died in a Sedona, Ariz., hospital. According to CMC acting president Bob Spuhler, she suffered a heart attack after major surgery and was unable to recover from it.

Balcomb was a distinguished faculty member at the college for more than 20 years, serving the college’s Spring Valley campus. After retiring from CMC, Balcomb was elected to the Board of Trustees, where she served as a trustee and board chair.



“Michele was a professor of biology for quite a few years,” friend and co-worker Bob McGill said of Balcomb. “She was very well-respected by her students.”

In one of the favorite classes, McGill recalled, Balcomb would bring her students to Baja California to watch and film whales.



CMC’s Balcomb building was owned by Michele Balcomb’s husband, Kenneth Balcomb, and other members of his law firm, McGill said. He added that she was instrumental in its being donated to the college.

“She had quite a love for the community, students and the faculty,” McGill said.

Balcomb’s funeral service was being handled by Wescott’s Mortuary in Cottonwood, Ariz., but an obituary wasn’t available Tuesday. Kenneth Balcomb said a memorial service for his wife would be held later this month in Glenwood Springs.


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