Daryle James Bogenrief
Marriages
Angie Nilsen Bogenrief - August 2004
at Durango, Colorado.
Burial Details
Obituaries
Vail Daily - June 20, 2005
Memorial services for part-time Avon resident Daryle Bogenrief will be Tuesday in Durango.
Bogenrief, 25, a raft guide, died Friday after his raft rolled on the upper Animas River.
A viewing will be noon-2 p.m. Tuesday at Hood Mortuary in Durango. A service will be at 2 p.m. at the mortuary. Following that service, there will be an informal gathering of family and friends near the Animas River at Rotary Park in Durango.
Bogenrief was a ski instructor at Vail Mountain for the past two winters, said friend Alicia Pribramsky.
Bogenrief was born on Nov. 10, 1979, at Torrejon Air Base in Torrejon de Ardoz, Spain, to Nancy and Jim Bogenrief. In his youth he lived in a number of countries abroad, including Scotland, Germany and Turkey. His family settled in Monument, where he graduated from Lewis-Palmer High School in 1998.
He attended Fort Lewis College in Durango and remained in Southwest Colorado to work as a guide for Mild to Wild rafting company.
Bogenrief is survived by his wife, Angie, of Avon; mother and father, Nancy and Jim Bogenrief of Monument; brother, Eric Bogenrief of Monument; paternal grandmother, Donna Bogenrief of Watertown, S.D.; and maternal grandmother, Gertrude Brink of Green Valley, Ariz. He was preceded in death by his grandfathers, Daryle A. Bogenrief and Kenneth E. Bull.
Memorial contributions can be sent to Wells Fargo Bank in Avon, c/o The Daryle Bogenrief Memorial Fund.
The Durango Herald contributed to this report.
Vail Daily - June 24, 2005
Hundreds bid adieu to Bogenrief in Durango/Family and friends bid adieu to Bogenrief in Durango, by Jesse Harlan Alderman.
DURANGO - As friends and family gathered Tuesday at the funeral of Daryle Bogenrief, the Avon guide who died on the upper Animas River, an overflow crowd of about 300 mourners spilled from a packed chapel to remember the fallen rafter.
At least a half hour before the service, a modest crowd began swelling into a wide throng outside Hood Mortuary, as river aficionados in sunglasses and sandals bowed their heads beside family and friends in ties and slacks.
The popular outdoorsman was only 25 years old, but had been a fixture at some of Durango's seminal institutions. He attended Fort Lewis College and worked as a guide for Mild to Wild Rafting, a ski instructor at Durango Mountain Resort and a bartender at Colorado Pongas on Eighth Street.
Inside the chapel, Bogenrief was remembered in a eulogy by his friend David Vandenberg. Bogenrief's wife, Angie, friend Mike Rosebush and the Rev. Doug Anderson also delivered tearful speeches. Anderson married the couple at the First Presbyterian Church in Durango last August. He is Angie Bogenrief's cousin.
After the funeral, Bogenrief's family hosted a memorial service at Rotary Park along the southern bank of the Animas.
Bogenrief and Scott Licona, a tourist from Lumberton, Texas, drowned LAST Friday when a boat handled by Bogenrief flipped in a harrowing set of Class 5 rapids.
The stretch, known as Ten Mile Rapids, is south of Silverton in San Juan County.
Friends said Bogenrief enjoyed the turbulent and challenging section of whitewater and would often vOlunteer for trips to the upper Animas River.
Throughout Durango on Tuesday, friends said memories of Bogenrief began to crystallize.
Matt Nimetz, ski school manager at the resort, said Bogenrief was a gifted athlete with a natural ability to succeed.
He said Bogenrief earned promotions - first at Durango Mountain Resort and then during the past two seasons at Vail Mountain - faster than all other instructors.
After his sixth season, Bogenrief became an apprentice examiner.
"In a span of six years, he went up like a level a year," Nimetz said. "No one ever does that."
But Nimetz said it was Bogenrief's flirtation with ice hockey that served as the best metaphor for his personality.
When Bogenrief joined the San Juan Slayers, Nimetz's team in a competitive local league, he barely knew how to ice skate.
"He went into it having never really played hockey before," Nimetz said. "Soon he was good for a goal every three games or so. He was a natural goal scorer. We could put him on a line with guys who were better, but he'd find a way to score."
Few ever speak of Bogenrief without mentioning his sense of humor, said Erik Leirfallom, the resort's ski-school supervisor.
"He was always the center of attention," he said. "It was his sense of humor. It was so unique."
Bogenrief was the hub of activity for one last time Tuesday before placid skies blackened over Rotary Park.
Between speeches during the funeral, the song "Where Are You Going?" by the Dave Matthews Band played over silence of the mourners.
The chorus was audible even to the last rows of the crowd outside the chapel.
"Where you are is where I belong/I do know where you go is where I want to be/Where are going? Where do you go?"
Vail Daily - June 21, 2005
AVON - Daryle James Bogenrief of Avon died Friday after his boat flipped on the upper Animas River. He was 25.
Bogenrief was born Nov. 10, 1979, at Torrejon Air Base in Torrejon de Ardoz, Spain, to Nancy and Jim Bogenrief. In his youth he lived in a number of countries abroad, including Scotland, Germany and Turkey. His family later settled in Monument, where he graduated from Lewis-Palmer High School in 1998.
He attended Fort Lewis College in Durango and remained in Southwest Colorado to work as a guide for Mild to Wild rafting company and as a ski instructor at Durango Mountain Resort. In Durango, he met and fell in love with Angie Nilsen of Palisade. The couple were married last August in Durango.
Bogenrief was also a ski instructor at Vail Mountain the past two winters.
"We loved each other more than I ever thought possible, and we were everything to each other," Angie Bogenrief said. "We loved our life together."
A gifted athlete and outdoorsman, Bogenrief excelled at baseball, basketball and soccer. He approached sports with a highly competitive spirit. Friends and family remembered him as one of the most highly respected ski instructors and talented river-raft guides in the state.
He also loved to fish and hunt Colorado's streams and mountains. He moved quickly through the U.S. Professional Ski Association's instructor programs, becoming the youngest examiner in the association's history.
Friends and family hailed Bogenrief for his contagious and disarming sense of humor. Friends said he brought integrity and excellence to his family life, work and sporting pursuits. He particularly loved sharing stories of his skiing, hunting and rafting adventures.
Bogenrief is survived by his wife, Angie Bogenrief, of Avon; mother and father Nancy and Jim Bogenrief of Monument; brother Eric Bogenrief of Monument; paternal grandmother Donna Bogenrief of Watertown, S.D.; and maternal grandmother Gertrude Brink of Green Valley, Ariz. He was preceded in death by his grandfathers, Daryle A. Bogenrief and Kenneth E. Bull.
There will be a public viewing today from noon to 2 p.m. at Hood Mortuary in Durango, followed by a funeral service. Immediately after the funeral, there will be a memorial service celebrating Bogenrief's life at the gazebo at Rotary Park on 15th Street and East Second Avenue.
An additional service will be at 3 p.m. June 30 at the Church at Woodmoor in Monument.
Memorial contributions can be sent to Wells Fargo Bank in Avon, c/o The Daryle Bogenrief Memorial Fund.
Vail Daily - June 30, 2005
He's already there, by Jeff Koch.
Editor's note: This is a testimonial following the death of Avon resident Daryle Bogenrief, who was killed June 17 on the Animas River north of Durango.
Heard a news blurb about an accident on the Animas. Not much info. Guess they needed to contact the families first. Tried a Net search a couple of times over the next day or so in order to assure it wasn't him. Tried again late Sunday night, and my worst fears were realized.
The river guide who drowned was my friend.
We all headed down to Durango to say goodbye. That's when I began to learn more about the friend I had lost. The San Juans were spectacularly beautiful in mid-June. Green with snow on the peaks. Steep and severe. Waterfalls. Different from the Rockies in Summit and Eagle counties that I frequent. Wilder, it seems. And the rivers were running high. I can see why my friend loved these mountains.
The accident happened on the upper Animas River. This stretch is some of the most difficult commercially guided water in the U S. Parts are Class V when running as high, as it was that day. My friend had run this stretch many times before and loved the challenge.
There were five in the boat that day. The raft went over, and everyone went swimming. Not an unusual occurrence. The guides train for this and know how to respond. Other rafts were part of the group and a safety raft followed. Witnesses say my friend righted the raft and then it flipped again.
Three made it to the river bank. My friend went after the other client. It's unclear, or maybe information is unavailable, as to what happened next. But regardless, the outcome is the same.
They got them both to shore and started CPR. They had left the party. My friend was strong. I'm sure he didn't go without a hell of a fight. They rode on the train. They rode on the chopper. It didn't matter. My friend, his joy, his energy, his soul, never came out of the river. The Animas, the River of Lost Souls, had taken him.
It helps me to believe he became part of the river, the water flowing out to the desert, down to the ocean, evaporating up to the sky where it can fall as snow on these mountains. Melt in the spring flowing down to the river and starting the cycle again. I can see why my friend loved this river.
It was hot at the service. The room was small and the turnout was large, so most of us stood outside and strained to listen to a small PA speaker placed in the window. None of us really wanted to be inside.
Jackets and ties were removed in the heat as the service went on. The river people wore Tevas. My friend's wife spoke. She was amazingly strong. The Dave Matthews Band's music asked my friend "Where are you going?" I knew the answer. Down a river. Up on a mountain. Just 50 years too soon. Most of the outside crowd were young people like my friend. Fit, healthy, tan. Lives ahead of them. I can see that they loved my friend.
My friend was only on Vail Mountain for the past two seasons. Guess he had outgrown his old mountain and Vail was the next step. It takes time to get established in a mountain town, but my friend made an impact in a short time.
His fiancee moved down from Steamboat to teach school, and they married late last summer. They bought a home in Avon and began to build a life together. He told me he wanted to do this one last season on the river and then move on. Maybe go Down Under to ski for our summer next year. Maybe start a family. I can see my friend and his bride were happy, and in love.
My friend was progressing through the Professional Ski Instructors of America certification system at an unprecedented rate. I coined the description wunderkind, or wonder child in English, to describe him. Many of us thought it was a fluke and that my friend didn't have the experience and maturity at this point in his life to be truly successful. It turns out he was achieving milestones with exceedingly high marks, and in April was selected as the youngest instructor examiner in the Rocky Mountain Division's history. His potential in the industry was unlimited. Can't say that about many.
I learned that my friend possessed an uncanny ability to assimilate information and to commit to a goal and achieve it. This quality is something beyond just self confidence. It's faith and belief that with the appropriate effort, one will be successful. No problem. Get it done.
There are some qualities that my friend lacked. Qualities like ego, arrogance, and vanity.
He projected a simple, straight-forward, down-home vibe. Unusual for a military brat born in Spain and raised abroad. I can see him rolling the brim of a ball cap and wearing his trademark flannel shirt under a Vail Ski School jacket. I told him once I bet he was wearing a big belt buckle under that shirt and he showed me - there it was, longhorn steer and all. My friend was a cowboy, a straight shooter. No Bogner for Bogenrief. He liked Carhardt.
After the service there was a reception in the park along the Animas. It was running high. There were signs describing the many times the river had flooded the city over the years. We sat in the sun and roasted. There was shade but nobody cared. We hadn't planned to be comfortable. There was a video running showing my friend on the river and his trademark raised paddle salute for the obligatory raft trip photo op. Eerily it was taken the day before the accident. Same flannel shirt.
My friend was humble. Friendly. Warm. A sweet kid. And a rippin' skier. I can see his wave on the mountain. A grin. A smirk. The snow spray off his skis. Then he was gone. Down Prima. Down the mountain.
My friend is and always will be a son. A brother. A husband. An apprentice. A guide and a teacher. And he'll always be my friend. After all I've learned, I'll try to be more like him.
My friend's name is Daryle Bogenrief. Last November he turned 25.
There's talk of spreading his ashes on Vail Mountain and on the Animas. Doesn't matter.
He's already there.
