Gordon W. Trost

Gordon W. Trost Born: March 16, 1928 Died: September 19, 2016 Gordon (†œBud†�) William Trost (AGE 88) passed away on September 19, 2016 at Collier Hospice Center in Wheat Ridge, Colorado after a short illness. Bud was born in Pierce, Nebraska on March 16, 1928; the second son born to Reverend Albert G. Trost Sr. and Augusta Trost. His brother, Air Force Lt. Colonel Albert G. Trost Jr., passed away last year at age 93. Bud grew up in several small towns in Nebraska; including Holdrege, Hildreth, and Wilcox where his dad served as a Lutheran pastor. He graduated from Hastings College in Nebraska with a degree in business administration. In the late forties, he moved from Nebraska to Denver, Colorado where he met the love of his life and wife of 36 years, Dorothea Jean (Nyburg) Trost who passed away in 1992. Bud and Jean had three children; Marc (spouse Cindy) (Golden, Colorado), Michalle (Augusta, Georgia) and Lori (spouse Jim) (Wichita, Kansas). Bud also had seven grandchildren (Amber, Jennifer, Leslie, Aaron, Melissa, Becky, Alex) and six great-grandchildren (Emma, Hunter, Evan, Ann Marie, Carter and Peyton). Bud was in the United States Army during the Korean conflict, specifically serving his country in the Counter-Intelligence Corps. He served honorably in Japan and was proud of attending intensive Army training at Fort Holabird in Maryland. Upon arriving in Denver, Bud was considering a career in accounting, but instead hired out as a trainman and freight conductor with the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad (which later became the Burlington Northern Railroad) in Denver because it paid better. His railroad career spanned 41 years and he retired in 1992. His stories of trips to Akron, Colorado and McCook, Nebraska were always interesting (he nearly died in a train wreck in 1984), and we still remember him sometimes leaving the house in his full California Zephyr trainman uniform. Bud†™s love of cars and building model airplanes (including radio-controlled planes) was second to none. He enjoyed buying and selling what are now truly classic cars that over the years included a bright orange Porsche 356 Model D convertible, several 1958-1959 Thunderbirds, a 1948 Lincoln Continental, a 1950 Lincoln Cosmopolitan, a 1954 Studebaker pickup truck and a 1953 Studebaker Commander, several Volkswagens including convertibles, Karmann-Ghias including convertibles, Ford Mustang GT fastbacks, a 1967 Ford Thunderbird with suicide doors, and a 1967 Cadillac Eldorado. He and his son Marc showed two of his cars in the Tri-State Auto Exhibition in Denver, with his bright red high-performance 1966 GT Mustang taking second in its class. One of his favorite pastimes was going car shopping on Sunday afternoons with his son Marc. Bud began building model airplanes when he was a teenager; this included owning a model plane with a six-foot wingspan that used a chain saw engine for power. He also had a model helicopter that was over three feet long and a foot high. Bud always put his wife and children first. He was a good provider for his growing family and after his third child Lori was born, Bud and Jean moved into the Lakewood, Colorado family home in 1959 where Bud continued to live until his passing. Bud was committed to saving and always said he was †œfuture-oriented†�, instilling in his children the strong value that current sacrifice yields great rewards later on in life. He was a regular fixture at family gatherings for many years until his health made it more difficult for him to attend these events. He had a very dry sense of humor; pondering what he had just said always yielded either a laugh or a deeper meaning. Bud enjoyed traveling and was able to visit his daughter Lori and her family (Jim and Amber) in Wichita, Kansas in 2006, and daughter Michalle and her family in Augusta, Georgia in 2007. He talked often about the beauty of Japan. Michalle and Lori both were blessed to have visited Bud in Denver earlier this year, and then again just prior to his passing. Bud enjoyed the stock market and always talked about it with his son Marc; especially as his eyesight made it more difficult for him to read the newspaper. He could take a Volkswagen engine entirely apart, have the pieces scattered on the floor of the garage, and then put them all back together and start the car without any issues whatsoever. He was an avid Star Trek and Star Trek Next Generation fan and liked anything that had to do with space, the exploration of space, or UFO†™s. He knew and loved physics and would always carefully explain how pretty much anything worked, as well as why it was not working. His friends were super glue, solder, and the duct tape he would use to repair just about anything. He loved his family dearly; having an entire photo gallery of his extended family resting on a shelf in his living room, on his kitchen table and that included a large photo of his wonderful wife Jean. Bud was strong to the end, saying that he had been through the symptoms of what turned out to be his final illness †œat least twelve times before†�. He believed in God and has gone to join his beloved wife and their little Papillion dog Mitzi in heaven. Donations can be made in Bud†™s honor to: · Make-A-Wish Foundation · 7951 E Maplewood Ave Ste 126, Greenwood Village, CO 80111 · Phone: (303) 750-9474 · Website: colorado.wish.org