Jonathan Patrick Springer, born September 20, 1949, a talented architect and philosopher, passed away September 13, 2014, after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. He is preceded in death by his parents Fran and Sam Springer and his brother Michael Springer. He leaves behind his wife Trisha Springer, his daughters Elizabeth and Katie Springer and his brother Steven Springer.
Jonathan brought many gifts to the world during his time here. Outside of his endowed work as an architect, working on projects such as the Ellie Caulkins Opera House and Denver International Airport, Jonathan’s passion for philosophy and knowledge made him the most interesting person to have a conversation with. Whether you wanted to talk about the Arts & Crafts Movement, Japanese martial arts, or the history of the guitar Jonathan always made the conversation just that much more valuable and clever. Eternally a kind, gentle, and spirited man Jonathan will be forever missed.
I was really sorry to hear Jonathan had passed away. He was a good guy with a nice sense of humor. I have a fun memory of Jon and I forming the Barbarians of America (BOA), and "invading" a Latin Club party at Mike Lancaster's home dressed as barbarians. In my yearbook Jon drew a cartoon of a "barbarian" holding a sign which says "The Grate Won Was Hear (Jon)" and also wrote "BOA forever". Jon was a fairly big guy for our day and age, but basically a gentle guy. One day at football practice the team was practicing kickoff returns. Jon was supposed to block me but I got past him a couple of times to make the tackle and Coach O'Neil was yelling at him. The next kickoff I though I was going to make the tackle again and was starting to lower myself for the blow when Jon just leveled me, literally running over me. HIs knee knocked my helmet off and bloodied my nose. It was nothing personal, but the "gentle" big guy let me have it!
Jon and his wife visited me about two months before he died. We visited the Musuem, we had dinner, we talked. He showed me his prosthetic foot, which he lost to a flesh eating virus a few months previous. When the doctors were doing that repair, they found the cancer. He was on chemo when he visited but was quite upbreat, the same old somewhat goofy Jon. But he was quite serious about architecture, exercise, and friendship. I did not realize it at that time, but he was making a farewell tour - saying good bye to some old friends. (I met him and Ed Sutton in third grade). I had not seen him for years, decades, but now I really miss him. I had been wondering what the point is of having reunions, but now I see that it is a time to say good bye, and maybe ask or seek forgiveness, or give praise or thanks.
This is more about what Steve said in his last sentence. It really hit me because I had a similar thought about reunions, only recently. I went to the Naval Academy and went through the four years with the same guys the entire time. We were all really good friends, and in some cases, great friends. Then we went our separate ways. Over the years there were reunions, many every five years, and I never attended. I always had an excuse not to go. In many cases, when I moved (and did so frequently) I did not give a forwarding address to the Academy in hopes they would not find me. I grew bitter about it all, but never could figure out why. It took me til my fortieth reunion to finally go to one - all those guys welcomed me as if I had just graduated or something! I went on to attend our forty-fifth reunion, and it was awesome. I will never miss another one. I was thinking about what I had done to myself - how I was so stupid not to attend my reunions, and I shared my thoughts with one or two of the guys I am again great friends with, and actually apologized to them! They told me to just forget it and to focus on the good times now and ahead, which I will do. But I know I wasted the opportunity to enjoy the company of these good men and their wives over four decades and can never recover those times - never! THIS is the reason none of us should miss our fiftieth reunion, especially since we never before had one.
May Kay (Wong)
Jonathan Patrick Springer, born September 20, 1949, a talented architect and philosopher, passed away September 13, 2014, after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. He is preceded in death by his parents Fran and Sam Springer and his brother Michael Springer. He leaves behind his wife Trisha Springer, his daughters Elizabeth and Katie Springer and his brother Steven Springer.
Jonathan brought many gifts to the world during his time here. Outside of his endowed work as an architect, working on projects such as the Ellie Caulkins Opera House and Denver International Airport, Jonathan’s passion for philosophy and knowledge made him the most interesting person to have a conversation with. Whether you wanted to talk about the Arts & Crafts Movement, Japanese martial arts, or the history of the guitar Jonathan always made the conversation just that much more valuable and clever. Eternally a kind, gentle, and spirited man Jonathan will be forever missed.
William Maier
I was really sorry to hear Jonathan had passed away. He was a good guy with a nice sense of humor. I have a fun memory of Jon and I forming the Barbarians of America (BOA), and "invading" a Latin Club party at Mike Lancaster's home dressed as barbarians. In my yearbook Jon drew a cartoon of a "barbarian" holding a sign which says "The Grate Won Was Hear (Jon)" and also wrote "BOA forever". Jon was a fairly big guy for our day and age, but basically a gentle guy. One day at football practice the team was practicing kickoff returns. Jon was supposed to block me but I got past him a couple of times to make the tackle and Coach O'Neil was yelling at him. The next kickoff I though I was going to make the tackle again and was starting to lower myself for the blow when Jon just leveled me, literally running over me. HIs knee knocked my helmet off and bloodied my nose. It was nothing personal, but the "gentle" big guy let me have it!
Bill Maier
Stephen Cairns
Richard Cooper
This is more about what Steve said in his last sentence. It really hit me because I had a similar thought about reunions, only recently. I went to the Naval Academy and went through the four years with the same guys the entire time. We were all really good friends, and in some cases, great friends. Then we went our separate ways. Over the years there were reunions, many every five years, and I never attended. I always had an excuse not to go. In many cases, when I moved (and did so frequently) I did not give a forwarding address to the Academy in hopes they would not find me. I grew bitter about it all, but never could figure out why. It took me til my fortieth reunion to finally go to one - all those guys welcomed me as if I had just graduated or something! I went on to attend our forty-fifth reunion, and it was awesome. I will never miss another one. I was thinking about what I had done to myself - how I was so stupid not to attend my reunions, and I shared my thoughts with one or two of the guys I am again great friends with, and actually apologized to them! They told me to just forget it and to focus on the good times now and ahead, which I will do. But I know I wasted the opportunity to enjoy the company of these good men and their wives over four decades and can never recover those times - never! THIS is the reason none of us should miss our fiftieth reunion, especially since we never before had one.
Dick Cooper