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Valley loses true original in Diemoz

by Carrie Click
Post Independent Staff

GLENWOOD SPRINGS ” Rancher, cowboy, civic leader, building contractor and lifelong Roaring Fork Valley resident Adolph Samuel Diemoz passed away Tuesday at Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs. He was 95.

On Tuesday afternoon, Diemoz’s son Floyd and his grandson John Diemoz said that Diemoz was only hospitalized for a week before he died earlier that day ” a testament to his strong and sturdy disposition.

Diemoz’s parents, Marie and Clement Diemoz, immigrated to Leadville from northern Italy at the turn of 20th century, and moved to the Roaring Fork Valley in 1906 where they settled with a large contingent of Italian pioneers.



Diemoz was born on June 28, 1908, at the family ranch near Emma, at the base of Mount Sopris. He rode his horse to school in El Jebel, just north of where Wendy’s restaurant sits today.

At 16, he worked to support his family as a range cowboy for the Sopris Cattlemen’s Association. He broke broncs, transforming them from wild creatures into saddle horses.



Floyd said Diemoz also performed in many rodeos, competing in bronc riding and roping events. He also was a prize-fighter, and was known for never losing a fight.

In 1936, Diemoz eloped to Grand Junction with Edith Cullet Vallet, whose family was also from northern Italy. They ranched on Missouri Heights before moving to California at the beginning of World War II. There, Diemoz worked in the defense industry ” at a south San Francisco shipyard building warships during the day and for the U.S. Coast Guard at night.

The couple had two children, Floyd and Frances.

He started Diemoz Construction Co. in 1946 in California, and he and Edith moved back to the Roaring Fork Valley in 1951. The company built hundreds of familiar Roaring Fork landmarks, from Sunlight Mountain Resort’s base building to the Springs Theatre on Grand Avenue, from Colorado Rocky Mountain School’s blacksmith shop to extensive remodels, renovations and additions to the Hot Springs Lodge and Hotel Colorado. The company built and remodeled hundreds of personal residences in the valley as well.

During the 1960s, Diemoz served as a Glenwood Springs City Council member and Garfield County commissioner. Diemoz was also a member of the Knights of Columbus, Elks Lodge 2286, and St. Stephen’s Catholic Church.

In typical fashion, Diemoz celebrated his 80th birthday by riding his horse Blaze and hiking to the top of Mount Sopris with friends. They encountered a snowstorm near the top of the mountain, which concerned son Floyd enough that he hired a small plane and pilot to fly him around Sopris and check on his dad. Diemoz had reached the summit with no problem, and Floyd has the pictures to prove it.

Diemoz is survived by his wife Edith, son Floyd, and his wife Lavonne, daughter Frances and her husband Alan Webber; granddaughter Corinne Diemoz Deraddo and her husband Steve; grandson John and his wife Vreneli Diemoz; grandson Adam Webber and granddaughter Amanda Webber; and great-grandchildren Lindsey, Shannon and Brian Deraddo, Erica Diemoz, as well as many other relatives and friends.

Contact Carrie Click: 945-8515, ext. 518

cclick@postindependent.com

Adolph Samuel Diemoz

1908-2004

– A Rosary for Adolph Diemoz will be recited on at 7 p.m., on Thursday, Jan. 29, at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church.

– A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m., on Friday, Jan. 30, at St. Stephen’s Catholic Church, 1885 Blake Ave., Glenwood Springs.

– Donations made be made to the Wilderness Land Trust, 220 Main St., Carbondale, CO 81623.


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