Dick Devoto

Richard "Dick" De Voto

Dick passed away on Tuesday, August 21, 2007. 

Dick played at the School of Mines, where he was also a teacher for many years. Then, later when courts were added at Jeff co he started to play there. He was a fierce competitor but a gentleman when the game was over in Handball.  He just loved to play, it did not matter who he had as a partner. 

He was also an avid Tennis Player, Golfer, and had finished all the 14ers at age 65. My understanding is that he also got a lot of guys into Handball at the Colorado School Of Mines, such as Bob Bisdorf, Chuck Bauer, Carlos Bernal, Don Shobrun(sp?) and more that are no longer playing. 

He will be missed, and I might add he put up one hell of a fight to last 2 1/2 years with pancreas cancer. I just talked with him in early Aug., and he was still very up beat, and said he doubted we would ever play Handball again only due to the fact he had lost so much weight, and muscle mass!! Take care, and let's all hope we have many more days of good old Handball.

submitted by Tom Chambers

The following appeared in the Denver Post:

Richard De Voto ("Dick"), 72, died peacefully in his home in Genesee (Golden) on August 21, 2007. He is survived by his wife, Judy; his three children, Rob (Boulder), Julianne (Siena, Italy), and John (Buelton, CA); Judy's three children, Jennifer, Jeffrey, and Gregory; and his nine grandchildren, all of whom were very special to him. His missing the 12th triannual greater De Voto Family reunion recently because of declining health was a great loss to him. His network of close friends and family were the source of his life's greatest joys.

He was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, graduated from Palo Alto High School, then went to Dartmouth College, where he received a B.S., an M.S. Degrees in Civil Engineering. He completed a Doctoral Degree in Geological Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, where he later became a Professor and taught for 21 years. His professional and teaching interest focused on Ore Deposits in Sedimentary Rocks, Uranium Geology and Exploration and Carbonate Sedimentology. He founded and was President of Canyon resources Corporation, a Golden-based public mining company, and a founding Director of an affiliated company in Australia, Delta Gold N. L., which explored for mineral deposits in Africa, South America, Australia, and North America and operated gold and industrial mineral mines in Nevada, Montana, California, New Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand. He also served six years on the Jefferson County Board of Education.

He maintained a life long interest in sports, particularly handball, tennis, and mountain climbing (all 54 of CO's 14,000 footers). His passions involved exploring the natural world, history, traveling, reading, games of all types, and being with good friends and family.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Colorado School of Mines Foundation for Richard De Voto Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 4005, Golden, CO 80401.