GARRALDA, John Cruz - b. September 13, 1934 - d. February 19, 2017

[patyrn]

John Cruz Garralda passed away on February 19, 2017.  He was born in Elko, Nevada on September 13, 1934, the son of Cruz and Edna (Allison) Garralda.

The family moved to Howard, Kansas in the early 1940s to a dairy farm.  Upon graduation from Howard High School, John went to Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas where he received his Bachelor's Degree in Education.  He then taught high school in the Severy/Howard area and decided to complete his Master's Degree in Library Science at the University of Denver in Colorado.

John returned to the Pittsburg area and worked at Porter Library at the university, ultimately becoming the Director of Libraries there.  He hired his wife, Jean, for her first "real" job at the library, and then he married her on August 3, 1968.  He was active in the Kansas Library Association and enjoyed spending his weekends with Jean and the Strip-Pitters Camping Club.

In 1975, John accepted the position of Director of Libraries at Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado.  Shortly thereafter, John and Jean adopted their daughter, Jeannine.  John loved the outdoors and spent many weekends in the forests around the Gunnison area either gathering wood for the fireplace of 4-wheeling with the Gunnison 4-Wheelers.  During this time, he was very active in the Colorado Library Association and was instrumental in bringing technology into the library system.

The family moved to Wheat Ridge, Colorado in 1986 where John began working at the Colorado Alliance for Research Libraries (CARL).  At CARL, he helped design one of the first digital Reader's Guides which eventually became the UnCover Company.  John retired from UnCover in 2001.

John was proud of his Spanish-Basque heritage, and in 2002, he and Jean were able to go to Spain.  He also spent his retirement reading, surfing the web, spending time with his beloved sisters and other family, and listening to music.

John is survived by his wife, Jean Garralda of Gatewood, Colorado; his daughter, Jeannine (Russell) Darnell of Dacona, Colorado; his grandsons, Anthony and Michael; his sisters, Barbara (Charles) Rhine of Greeley, Colorado and Martina (Jerry) Hubbell of Howard, Kansas; his nieces, Christi and Teri; his nephews, John and Matt; and numerous great-nieces and great-nephews.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Cruz and Edna Garralda of Howard, Kansas.

A celebration of John's life was held at Applewood Community of Christ Church in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.  He was interred at Crown Hill Cemetery in Wheat Ridge.   Memorial contributions may be made in John's name to either your local library or Outreach International, http://outreach-international.org.  Arrangements were under the direction of Olinger Crown Hill Mortuary, Cemetery, and Arboretum of Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

(taken from the Olinger Crown Hill Mortuary website)_