William Culbertson, Jr.

William James Culbertson, Jr.

Oct. 8, 1926 - May 23, 2014

Bill was born October 8, 1926 in Wichita Falls, Texas, the son of William James Culbertson of Fort Benton, Montana, and Nona Geneveria Hess of El Reno, Oklahoma. His family moved to Denver when he was 5 years old during the depression. His father was a decorative plasterer and found work in Denver. Bill helped his dad build their house and an addition to it as he grew up. He graduated from South High School and the University of Denver in chemical engineering. He earned two masters degrees, one in metallurgy. Bill had a lifelong interest in geology, beginning when he went prospecting with his dad as a boy. He had an extensive rock collection. His family had a homestead near Meeker, Colorado, where they went in the summers. He skied, played tennis, hiked and climbed several 14,000' mountains in Colorado.

Bill worked in the chemical division of Denver Research Institute, connected to Denver University, until the division closed in 1994. He and some friends formed a company called CoZinCo while he was still working at DRI. They built a plant in Salida, to manufacture zinc sulfate granules to be used as a trace ingredient in fertilizer and cattle feed. Bill worked as CoZinCo about 10 years after leaving DRI, until the company was sold. He designed most of the equipment and helped develop the process for making their product.

While at DRI Bill did research on cleaning up the smokestacks at the coal fueled power plant in Denver. He also worked on a cost efficient method for producing oil shale on the western slope of Colorado, as well as other projects.

He married Barbara Rogers, a school teacher, in 1966. Their daughter Elizabeth was born in 1968. The family took auto trips to different parts of the western U.S., stopping at rock shops and mines along the way. They also camped, hiked, and went four-wheel driving on jeep roads in Colorado. There were also annual Christmas trips to Barb's family in Texas. Elizabeth was married in 1988 and has two children, Gaby, 10, and Katy, 7. They live in Boulder.

Bill was a member of Optimist Club of Monaco South and Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society. He was a member of Christ United Methodist Church from his childhood until some years after the family moved to south Denver. He will be missed by his family and friends.

Donations in Bill's memory may be made to: The Hospice of Denver or the Salvation Army.

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