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Virgil Newquist

Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
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Virgil Newquist, 94, passed away Feb. 2, 2008, at LaVilla Grande Nursing Home in Grand Junction, following a debilitating stroke.

He was born Aug. 14, 1915, in Centerville, Iowa, to Hilmer Gust and Bertha May Hopkins Newquist. The family moved to Colorado, and he spent his childhood on Bellyache Mountain and the Eagle area.

He served in the Army during World War II from 1944-46.



Virgil was a woodsman, set-up man, millwright and “jack of all trades” at the Western Slope Lumber and Kaibab Lumber Mill in Eagle.

Virgil loved nature, his property on Gypsum Creek, the clear mountain air and flowers. He was a skilled fisherman, hunter and machinist. He particularly loved to fish at Sourdough Lakes and Lost Lake, off of Gypsum Creek, and Deep Creek.



Virgil’s life centered on his family and his church friends. He was well-known in the communities of Eagle and Gypsum, where he lived for the last 44 years.

His hobbies included fishing, hiking, hunting, photography and enjoying his friends and neighbors. During the past 10 years, he wrote his life story, which he completed this past winter.

Virgil was self-sufficient, taking care of himself until he moved to Heritage Homes in Palisade at the age of 92.

Virgil lived in a small home, which he heated with a wood stove. His water came from a spring, his electric power from solar panels. He had no television, and his only bill was for phone service.

Virgil is survived by daughter Elsa W. Terry of Delta; 11 grandchildren; 27 great-grandchildren; niece Helen Lewise Newquist (Frank) Fish; nephew Del Newquist; many special friends; church acquaintances, and ex-wife Susie Singleton.

He was preceded in death by sons Charles Dell and Virgil Herman; a still-born baby; brother and sister-in-law, Herman and Helen Newquist; and Merv Reed, a close friend.

Virgil donated his body to the Anatomical Board at the University of Colorado with the help of Snell-McLean Funeral Home of Palisade.

Services will be held in June at the Christian Church of God on Victoria Way in Grand Junction.

Memorial contributions may be made to American Cancer Society, or to Hospice and Palliative Care of Western Colorado.


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