Jim Calaway, whose name is associated with Glenwood Springs-area institutions from Colorado Mountain College to the Calaway Young Cancer Center at Valley View Hospital due to his gracious financial contributions and support over the years, has died.
Calaway, who resided in Carbondale with his wife, Connie, passed away on Wednesday at his home with Connie at his side. He was 87. A full obituary is pending, and a celebration of his life is being planned for January.
A retired oilman from Texas, Calaway relocated to the Roaring Fork Valley in the 1990s and, along with Connie, immediately began giving to the many institutions whose missions they supported. Most of that effort centered around education, animals and health care.
His name graces the main academic building at CMC’s residential campus at Spring Valley, and he was the primary funder for the Colorado Animal Rescue animal shelter that is situated across from the Spring Valley campus and works in conjunction with the college’s vet-tech program.
When Valley View Hospital wanted to build a state-of-the-art cancer center, Calaway was there along with Alpine Bank founder Bob Young to help make it happen. Together, the Calaways and Young gave $4 million toward that $26 million project.
Calaway has also donated generously to the Garfield County Libraries over the years.
“At 85, I’m still an incurable entrepreneur,” Calaway said during a 2016 talk at the inaugural GlenX Summit in Glenwood Springs, where he told the story of his business successes, and related how giving back to the community is what makes him happiest.
“Live life modestly and give to the common good, be creative and be kind. That’s the way to live,” he said.
“It will be hard to imagine a world without Jim Calaway in it,” said CMC President and CEO Carrie Besnette Hauser. “Jim was such a force for generosity. He not only gave constantly of himself, he nudged and encouraged many other leaders within our community to live a philanthropic life.
“My heart goes out to his wife, Connie, to his sons and their families, and to the many friends he’s made over the years. He will be deeply missed.”
Another contributor to CMC over the year, Walter Issacson, had this to say: “They just don’t make people any better than Jim. He was not only a good person, he made everyone around him into a better person. You couldn’t help but want to be more like him.”