John (Jack) Watson Carey of Denver, Colorado died peacefully in his home early on the morning of May 21, 2025 of complications from pneumonia. Jack will be remembered as a man of insatiable curiosity, remarkable kindness, and a slightly askew brilliance. He was a man who thrived on learning, new experiences, and a diverse set of interpersonal connections. He valued deep connection above all and never approached anything in a remotely conventional way.

Jack was born in Wichita, Kansas on May 7, 1929 to Earl Kenneth (E.K.) and Winifred Watson Carey. He spent the early years of his childhood in McPherson, Kansas where his father was in the oil business. Jack's childhood included visiting the oil rigs, working on the family farm and playing trombone in the school band. He was an avid participant in the Boy Scouts, where he attended Philmont camp and became an Eagle Scout.

At the end of World War II, his family moved to a house on 17th and Monaco Street in Denver, Colorado. Jack attended East High School for his junior and senior years, graduating in 1947.  He enrolled at the University of Colorado to study geology, but later transferred to the Colorado School of Mines, where he graduated with a degree in Geophysical Engineering in 1949. He spent summers during high school and college working on his family's ranch in the hills northwest of Fort Collins.

Jack's first job out of college was working for Mobil Oil as foreman of a drilling crew in the Venezuelan rainforest. After spending three years on South American drilling rigs, he returned and enrolled in the Counter Intelligence Corps at the height of the Cold War. Stationed in Iceland, Jack was also able to travel extensively throughout Europe. Upon returning from Europe, Jack dabbled at working for a few oil companies his father was involved with.

In 1959 on a barstool in the Red Onion in Aspen, Jack met his first wife Betsy Borgmann and they married soon after, raising four children during the course of their 23-year marriage. Jack went to law school at the University of Denver and graduated in 1964, earning academic honors as a member of the Order of Saint Ives. Jack's professional occupations varied widely, including real estate investment, various oil-related ventures, and a start-up residential solar company that was ahead of its time.

Jack was divorced in 1983 and five years later he met and soon married the love of his life, Jean Cooper Carey. Jean brought four kids of her own to the marriage, and the blended family soon ballooned with 16 grandkids who were the focus of Jack and Jean's later years. Their marriage lasted 34 years until her death and brought Jack immeasurable happiness.

Jack was a voracious reader and lifelong learner, maintaining an insatiable curiosity and love of ideas throughout his life. Even in his later years, he devoured books on a variety of topics and was constantly becoming enthralled with new concepts. Many friends shared the experience of being excited by a book, only to discover that Jack had read that same book years earlier. In addition, Jack's interests varied widely, including, geology, history, and public affairs. Jack maintained a special interest in current affairs, both local and international. In his later years, he was an avid viewer of nightly news shows on PBS, CNN, and MSNBC and never missed Fareed Zakaria on a Sunday morning.

He was once described as a "brainiac with an alpine addiction," and indeed he was an avid outdoorsman with a deep and abiding love for the mountains. The lifelong love affair started with trips in high school and continued in college with a group of friends later to be known as the "Over The Hill Gang." Jack pursued a wide variety of outdoor adventures throughout his adult life. He was a beautiful downhill skier, an avid mountaineer and an accomplished rock climber. Jack summited 35 Colorado 14ers including some winter ascents, completed the Haute Route in the French Alps and pioneered a first ascent up the east face of Longs Peak. He led his children and friends on innumerable backpacking, mountaineering, and river trips, and paraglided off Aspen Mountain. Later in life, He took up cycling and completed two Ride the Rockies tours.

Jack had a lifelong passion for music of all kinds. In junior high and high school, he played the trombone and participated in school marching bands. During high school, he was part of a "Big Band" that included students from multiple Denver high schools and played various gigs and dances around town for extra spending money. He maintained a love for classical music throughout his life, regularly attending symphony performances at the Boettcher Concert Hall. He also loved to sing and was a longtime choir member at the Park Hill United Church of Christ.

Jack maintained and found joy in a wide variety of personal relationships throughout his life. One of his favorite requests of people he was talking with was, "Tell me a happy story!" He cultivated and valued friendships with as diverse a set of perspectives as he could find. He was just as  comfortable at an academic conference as he was at a neighborhood association meeting. He was an active participant for many years in a local Toastmasters chapter and was known as the "Dean" of his men's group at Park Hill UCC. In his final years, Jack found solace in the warmth of a deep personal connection with his devoted team of caregivers: Tina, Yolanda, Anne, Pam, and Alice.

The importance of family was an enduring theme in Jack's later years. He was a devoted and supportive father to each of his four children and grandchildren. Although he became a grandfather relatively late in life, his passion for each of his grandchildren (and step grandchildren) was unbounded. He attended countless school performances and plays and worked as a volunteer tutor in his grandkids elementary school well into his seventies. Known affectionately by his grandkids as Pops, he was a constant, supportive presence in their lives.

Jack is survived by his three children Marc Carey (Mary Jo Brooks), Ann Sabbah (Basil), and Julie Carey (Andy Hutchinson), and four grandchildren (Dylan and Emma Carey and Isabel and Ally Sabbah). He was preceded in death by his son Tom Jefferson Carey and wife Jean Cooper Carey.

Jack was a man beloved by many who will be dearly missed.

A Celebration of a Life Well Lived will take place Saturday, June 14, 2025 at 10:30am at the Park Hill United Church of Christ, 2600 Leyden St., Denver, CO 80207. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Protect Democracy , the American Civil Liberties Union , or any organization protecting the democracy of our nation in his name.