George L. Merkert Jr.

George L. Merkert Jr., the team doctor for CC’s sports teams for more than 30 years, died July 12, 2014, at age 89. “Dr. Merkert was a most competent and caring physician, who had an uncanny ability to install confidence and trust in his patients,” said Horst Richardson, CC men’s soccer coach. George never graduated from high school and was not-so-secretly proud he hadn’t. His college entrance scores were substantial enough and the need for doctors during World War II was great enough, that he qualified for the Navy V-12 college training program and left for college before the end of his senior year of high school. He graduated from medical school in 1948 and treated soldiers wounded in Vietnam. He practiced orthopaedic surgery in Colorado Springs and formed a practice that grew to become the Colorado Springs Orthopaedic Group. Survivors include his wife, Karin; sons George L. “Chip” Merkert III ’73, Craig, Thomas and Jon; their mother, Ruth Napier; and four stepchildren. A fifth son, Walter, died shortly after birth. Donations may be made to the George Merkert Endowment for Education in Sports Medicine at CC at www.coloradocollege.edu/donate or call 1-800-782-6306, option 3.

Todd Martz

Todd Martz, a beloved member of the Colorado College community, died Aug. 24, 2014, of complications after surgery. He packed a great deal of life into his 42 years and is remembered affectionately. Todd arrived at CC as an intern in the Center for Service and Learning before moving on to a position with Sodexho Food Services. He later joined the staff at Wooglin’s Deli, a student hangout where he dispensed cheerful greetings and generous hugs for many years. Todd also touched hearts in the Kappa Sigma Beta Omega fraternity, which “adopted” him in 1993, making him the only person with Down syndrome to become a full-fledged member of a U.S. college fraternity. Todd is survived by his parents, Harvey and Judy; his sister and brother-in-law, Meredith and Greg Luttrel; his grandmother, Helen Johnston; and aunts and uncles. He also is survived by countless friends who learned so much from Todd. Donations may be made to: National Down Syndrome Congress Foundation, 30 Mansell Ct., Suite 108, Roswell, GA 30076 or www.ndsccenter.org; Kappa Sigma Fraternity, Attn: The Todd G. Martz Scholarship-Leadership Award Fund, 1610 Scottsville Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22902 or www.kappasigma.org; St. Andrew United Methodist Church, Attn: Compassion Fund, 9203 S. University Blvd., Highlands Ranch, CO 80926 or www.st-andrew-umc.com. Read more about Todd by searching catalystnewspaper.com.

Richard “Dick” Beidleman

Richard “Dick” Beidleman, professor emeritus of biology, lost his battle with cancer on Aug. 7, 2014, in Pacific Grove, Calif., at age 91. He is survived by his wife, Linda Havighurst Beidleman ’70; his son, S. Kirk Beidleman, and daughter-in-law, Kathy Whitacre, of Estes Park, Colo.; daughter, Janet Robson of Tasmania, Australia; and daughter, Carol Beidleman, and son-in-law, David Tiemeyer of Santa Fe, N.M., and Estes Park. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Reba. Dick started his teaching career at Colorado State University while earning his master’s and Ph.D. at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He joined CC as an assistant professor in 1957 and retired in 1988; he received an honorary doctorate of science from CC in 1989. He was happiest when teaching, researching, or observing nature.

A celebration of life was held Oct. 12 in Shove Chapel. Donations can be made to the “Dr. Richard G. Beidleman Scholarship for Students of Biology” at CC, via the Development Office, P.O. Box 1117, Colorado Springs, CO 80901-9897, www.coloradocollege.edu/donate, or (800) 782-6306 (option 3). Condolences can be sent c/o Carol Beidleman to beidlemanc@aol.com or 49 Tano Alto, Santa Fe, NM 87506.

Below, two of his students share their remembrances.

“I had Dr. Richard Beidleman as a professor of ecology in 1987. He had the greatest sense of humor, and brought the subject alive when we took a week-long trip to study ecology. He was excellent at ornithology and the ecosystems of Colorado. He was the most incredible professor I ever had at CC.

“Dr. Beidleman never ceased to amaze me with his endless amount of energy. He inspired me to be a better student, and inspired me to study more biology. He helped shape my career as a high school biology teacher. He helped me enter and finish the master’s program in secondary science education at CC.

“I kept in touch with Dr. Beidleman while I was teaching high school science. I was very saddened to hear of his death. The world has lost a bright light that can never be replaced. I can say that I was not only taught by a great professor, but I also became friends with a great professor.”

Mary Eiberger ’89, MAT ’90

Excerpt from The FOGGhorn, news from Friends of Garden of the Gods:

“Dr. Richard Beidleman was one of the most important people in the history of Garden of the Gods Park. In the late 1960s, 40 acres at the garden’s east entrance were almost sold to a developer. The land was saved because Dr. Beidleman put up his own funds as earnest money. He stalled the sale long enough to work with others to purchase the acreage.

“Dr. Beidleman also authored the document that persuaded the Department of the Interior to designate the park as a National Natural Landmark in 1971.

“Dr. Beidleman was my biology professor at CC in the early 1970s, and we stayed in touch as I began my career as a park interpreter. This nationally acclaimed author, biologist, and naturalist always made time to lead hundreds of field trips and present countless programs about the Pikes Peak region. He was truly a master teacher who made learning a fun adventure.

“Whenever I hear the call of a white-breasted nuthatch, I remember learning that sound from Dr. Beidleman. When I marvel at the white-throated swifts swirling above North Gateway Rock, I remember Dr. Beidleman. When he concluded his final lecture at Garden of the Gods in 2009, he quoted William Cullen Bryant and urged us to ‘Go forth under the open sky and listen to Nature’s teachings.’ ”

Melissa Walker ’72
President of the board of directors of the Friends of Garden of the Gods

Ann Zwinger

Editor’s note: Ann Zwinger, acclaimed author and naturalist, died Aug. 30, 2014, in Portland, Ore., at age 89. She taught in CC’s Southwest Studies program for many years, received an honorary doctorate of humane letters in 1976, and donated her papers to Tutt Library. She is survived by three daughters: Susan, Jane, and Sara, and by her granddaughter, Sally Ann.

By John Hazlehurst, reprinted with permission
of The Colorado Springs Independent

. . . She had been in ill health for several years, and had moved to Portland to be with her daughters after the 2012 death of Herman Zwinger, her spouse of 50 years. . . .

Ann and Herman moved to Colorado Springs in 1960 and stayed for the next half-century. During that time, Ann wrote 20 books, authored scores of pieces for national magazines, [and] was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1973. . . .

Ann’s first book, “Beyond the Aspen Grove,” was published in 1970. The author, then a 46-year-old military spouse and mother of three children, wrote about the 40 acres that she and Herman had purchased in 1963 in the mountains west of Colorado Springs. Her subject: the land and its life. . . .

It was a seminal work of Western environmentalism. Nothing escaped her notice, no species went unremarked, no birdsong unheard.

Ann wasn’t just a dreamy observer, but a polymath who could write authoritatively about the entire living world — and illustrate her words with lyrical yet precise pen-and-ink drawings. Her prose is gentle, affectionate and commanding.

“But to own this land,” she wrote, “as one owns a book or pot or a pan, is impossible. We own it only as it becomes a part of the experience of each one of us. It is its own reason for being. The life of the wood, meadow or lake go on with or without us . . . Humans are but intruders who have presumed the right to be observers and who, out of observation, find understanding.”