{"id":2447116,"date":"2019-08-02T22:40:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-03T04:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/former-steamboat-resident-sherman-poppen-grandfather-of-snowboarding-dies-at-age-89\/"},"modified":"2019-08-02T22:40:00","modified_gmt":"2019-08-03T04:40:00","slug":"former-steamboat-resident-sherman-poppen-grandfather-of-snowboarding-dies-at-age-89","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/former-steamboat-resident-sherman-poppen-grandfather-of-snowboarding-dies-at-age-89\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Steamboat resident Sherman Poppen, grandfather of snowboarding, dies at age 89"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Sherman Poppen, inventor of the Snurfer, laughs when asked about his role in the development of snowboarding.<\/strong>
John F. Russell\/Steamboat Today<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS \u2014 Sherman R. Poppen, a former Steamboat Springs resident and inventor of an early snowboard called the \u201cSnurfer,\u201d died at the age of 89 on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

On Christmas Day 1965, while living with his first wife and two, nearly three, children in Muskegon, Michigan, Poppen nailed his daughters\u2019 skis together and an early version of the snowboard was born.<\/p>\n

His impact on the sport of snowboarding is even recognized nationally. The original Snurfers are housed in the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the Smithsonian Institution, and three Snurfers reside at the Colorado Snowsports Museum in Vail.<\/p>\n

The invention of the Snurfer is the first of 10 important moments in snowboarding history, according to smithsonianmag.com.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was, as far as snowboarding is concerned, a true innovator and a visionary,\u201d said John Dakin of the Colorado Snowsports Museum. \u201cToday\u2019s snowboarders owe him a great debt of gratitude for the movement that he really helped to jump start.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearby manufacturer Brunswick partnered with Poppen to mass produce the Snurfer and have it on shelves ahead of Christmas 1966. They even enhanced the design, creating a Super Snurfer. That featured a metal skeg beneath the tail to improve the ability to steer.<\/p>\n

Poppen helped begin the first-ever World Snurfing Competition in 1968. At the annual event, a young Jake Burton got a taste for the sport. From there, Burton began to modify the design into the modern-day snowboard.<\/p>\n

Poppen\u2019s daughters Wendy and Julie recall an interview in which their father voiced just one regret.<\/p>\n

\u201cJake Burton wanted to buy the name Snurfer, and my Dad wouldn\u2019t sell it to him,\u201d Wendy Poppen said. \u201c(He said) \u2018That\u2019s my biggest regret because then it would be called Snurfing not snowboarding.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Poppen was inducted into the Snowboarding Hall of Fame in 1995 and was nominated to enter the National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in 2009 but has yet to receive that honor.<\/p>\n

A life of philanthropy<\/p>\n

While his name will always be tied to snowboarding, Poppen also took pride in his philanthropy and involvement in all the communities in which he resided.<\/p>\n

Back in his hometown of Muskegon, Poppen built up his business, Lake Welding Supply Co., before selling it to his employees when he retired in the early 1990s.<\/p>\n

\u201cSelling it to his employees, he gave everyone, including the guys rolling the cylinders around in the back such a huge retirement (fund) and quality of life and solid resources,\u201d Sherman\u2019s daughter Julie Poppen said. \u201cHe was really proud that he took care of his employees that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was inducted into the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 and earned the Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce Business Hall of Fame Award in 2012.<\/p>\n

Around the time his first wife, Nancy, died in 1993, Poppen created the Nancy K. Poppen Fund, now known as Poppen Programs, which supports low-income K-12 students who are interested in the arts in Muskegon. More recently, he added a college scholarship to Poppen Programs.<\/p>\n

The town honored him in 2012 with the unveiling of a sculpture called \u201cThe Turning Point\u201d to commemorate the invention of the Snurfer, as well as his civic contributions.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, he loved the Snurfer story, and I think he enjoyed being in the limelight, but these bigger impacts on people\u2019s lives were probably more profound for him,\u201d Julie Poppen said.<\/p>\n

Poppen lived an active lifestyle, racing sailboats for most of his life and attending Northwestern University on a full NROTC Naval Scholarship. He served in the Navy on the USS Perry after graduating with a degree in business.<\/p>\n

A fun family man<\/p>\n

Sherman and Nancy raised their three daughters, Wendy, Laurie and Julie, to be active.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a really fun dad \u2014 not so much the camping and wilderness stuff, more like sailing and running,\u201d said Julie, Poppen\u2019s youngest daughter. \u201cHe got really into running and tennis for a while, and skiing, until he started snowboarding with his current wife, Louise. (He was) always doing stuff \u2014 playing on the beach with us, running around, swimming. (He was) a very, very physical, high-activity person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Poppen\u2019s daughters also recall him being a bit of a prankster.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur mom was more of an introvert, quieter type,\u201d Wendy said. \u201cHe was the gregarious, outgoing, do backflips into the hot tub crazy man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Julie recalled a story she always heard about him tricking his mother. Using a ballpoint pen, he drew \u2018I love Mom\u2019 on his arm and came home saying he had gotten a tattoo.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe about blew a gasket,\u201d Julie said. \u201cOf course, it was just a ballpoint pen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a fun Dad. He kept us on our toes,\u201d Wendy added.<\/p>\n

Wendy came to Steamboat Springs in the 1980s to be a ski instructor, and her parents soon followed, moving to Steamboat in the early \u201990s.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so funny, my Dad would say, \u2018Wendy you should get a real job, you\u2019re just a ski bum. What are you doing? Get a real job,\u2019\u201d Wendy recalled. \u201cThen him and my mom decided to buy a condo there and live in the mountains some place. One night at dinner, I said, \u2018Hey, Dad, look at you. You\u2019re a ski bum now. What\u2019s the difference between us?\u2019 and he goes, \u2018I\u2019m a ski bum with money.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite inventing the snurfer 30 years earlier, it wasn\u2019t until his late 60s or early 70s, that he began to snowboard.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe used to go to snowboarding conventions on his skis,\u201d Wendy said. \u201cEveryone else was snowboarding. He would be the big star, make all these speeches, then finally one year, they said, \u2018Sir, we love you so much, and we want you to keep coming, but you cannot come back with skis next year. You have to come back on a snowboard.\u2019 So that year, he taught himself to snowboard.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2008, Sherman and his second wife, Louise, relocated to Griffin, Georgia.<\/p>\n

Poppen loved the Steamboat powder, so when the snow begins to fall, his daughters are planning to arrange a small tribute on his favorite run.<\/p>\n

Details on celebrations of life to be held in Griffin, Muskegon and Steamboat are pending.<\/p>\n

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to: the Poppen Programs, Inc.; the Harbor Hospice Foundation or the local hospice program; or SOS Outreach, a Colorado-based program that brings underserved youth into the mountains to snowboard, ski, camp and build skills for life.<\/p>\n

sreardon@steamboatpilot.com<\/a><\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sherman Poppen, inventor of the Snurfer, laughs when asked about his role in the development of snowboarding.John F. Russell\/Steamboat Today STEAMBOAT SPRINGS \u2014 Sherman R. Poppen, a former Steamboat Springs resident and inventor of an early snowboard called the \u201cSnurfer,\u201d died at the age of 89 on Wednesday. On Christmas Day 1965, while living with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2447116","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-24 09:30:53","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2447116"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447116\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2447116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2447116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2447116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}