March 18, 1946 – June 12, 2025
Gene Ulrich, a member of our Ridgway community, passed away peacefully in his apartment on Thursday, June 12, due to complications from pancreatic cancer. He was a friend to many, a staunch supporter of environmental causes, and an animal rights advocate. Trained as a pilot for a small regional carrier in the East, Gene came to Ouray County in the late 1990s. He lived a quiet life working for a few contractors needing day workers and was a regular visitor to the Ridgway Library where he had an avid thirst for history and biographies.
Most Ridgway residents will remember him as an inveterate walker through town, the river walkway corridor, and County Road 23 – one time he calculated that he had walked along CR 23 a thousand times! It was mostly through his walks that he met people and developed relationships. Because Gene was always here and never traveled, people asked him to look after their pets and water their plants while they were gone. He always complied, at times handling multiple requests concurrently.
Community service oriented, Gene volunteered with multiple events including trash pickup on Hwy 550 and monitoring the recycling barrels in Hartwell Park for the July music series. Not much of a talker, Gene was never heard to say a contrary word about anyone. Whenever asked by someone how he was doing, he invariably would reply, ‘About the same’. His favorite activity was listening to classical music while reading a book.
Gene Ulrich was a gracious gentleman with a kind heart.
