James C. Dunkin

Remembering Jace Dunkin, 1941-2009

If Jace Dunkin were writing his own obituary, he'd probably start with a good joke. Of course, that joke might not be printable in a family newspaper. A true memorial about Jace, who succumbed to emphysema on May 5, needs two distinct parts. The first honors his accomplishments, like serving as mayor of Mt. Crested Butte, owning successful businesses, doing military intelligence work and taking care of his mother and siblings. The second honors his inimitable spirit - the feisty, mischievous and fun-loving side that drew such a huge circle of friends around him. That section is short; as a fellow prankster said, few of Jace's youthful stories belong in a publication that might be read by law enforcement.

The element that tied together Jace's success and his merry-making was his great love of people. Gregarious and caring, Jace managed to be gruff and opinionated, yet almost universally liked.

Though wickedly intelligent, Jace seldom applied that to academia. Instead, he loved wordplay, discussing black holes and galaxy formation, predicting NFL victors, playing blackjack with his disciplined mathematical system, and devising phone pranks to pull on his friends. He lived life with a twinkle in his eye, said his sister Diane Howell. "He wasn't a stay-at-home kind of guy; he was always out exploring. He'd grab life by the horns and hang on," she said.

James C. Dunkin ("J.C." to his family) was born in 1941 to A. Irene and Ronald "Dunk" Dunkin in Lamar, Colorado. He grew up in Las Animas, Pueblo and Denver, but spent summers with his family fishing and playing in the Gunnison Valley, particularly the Taylor Canyon area.

After briefly working at the Crested Butte Lodge and attending Colorado State University, Jace served in the Army from 1966 to 1970, as a military policeman in Germany and in military intelligence throughout Europe. In Germany he learned to skydive and loved it, his sister recalled. On his last dive, his main and reserve chutes malfunctioned as he plummeted earthward. He passed out as he was crashing through tree limbs, then awoke to a world of white. Thanks to well-placed trees and thick snow, his worst injury was a broken arm.

Back in Gunnison, Jace graduated from Western State College in 1971 and opened the laid-back New Frontier Cafe (where the Firebrand is now). Later, he created Mountain Brothers Construction with his brother Dean. The two briefly formed a rock band, with Jace playing guitar and singing. Steve Bunt, who met Jace in 1971, remembers him then as "a good-looking ladies' man" with his gift of gab, appetite for mischief and styling '48 Mercury. "He was a chick magnet," said Steve.

From 1975 to 1987, Jace ran Crested Butte Mountain Resort's rental and retail operations, managing people, budgets, customer service... and various inter-office shenanigans.

"He built a tremendous, dedicated crew," friend and associate Bob Haley recalled. "He really cared about the people who worked with him."

In the early 1980s Jace served on the ambitious board that expanded the Dos Rios Golf Club from nine to 18 holes. One of his proudest moments was winning his flight in the Dos Rios Open. Even before the snow melted each spring, Jace donned his trademark golf sweater and shorts. Most winters he spearheaded a group golf pilgrimage to the desert.

Jace was elected to the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council in 1988 and served as mayor from 1994 to 1996. He was known as a dedicated mayor with a strong sense of fairness.

In the early 1990s, Jace opened Resort Video, where he served as unofficial social and communications director for the community he loved.

After emphysema prompted Jace to move to a lower elevation in 2004, Steve visited him in Mesquite, Nevada. As they made the rounds, from the grocery store to Jace's favorite breakfast joint, people everywhere already knew Jace by name. "People were just drawn to him," Steve said.

From Mesquite, Jace communicated with Crested Butte friends via regular e-mails, most of them worth a good chuckle. Through football season, he maintained weekly long-distance bets with Bob Haley. "Nobody was going to get rich. It was a way to stay in touch, to give each other hell," Bob said. "The back-and-forth was great fun."

In a farewell conversation from the hospital in Mesquite, Jace said to a friend, "Tell people I just wanted to make them smile." Most would agree: he succeeded. Friends and family will gather on Saturday, June 20, at the Club at Crested Butte to celebrate Jace's life - and tell the tales that don't fit here.

Jace is survived by his sister Diane Howell, brother Dean Dunkin, and nephew and niece Chris and Cailin Dunkin. The family invites memorial contributions to the donor's favorite charity.