THE GAZETTE
Ron Wisner, the retired dean of students at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, died Friday when he crashed while mountain biking with his wife on a trail near Larkspur.
Described by family as an avid cyclist, runner and skier, Wisner, 67, was biking on the Kipps Loop bike trail in Greenland Open Space, according to Cocha Heyden, spokeswoman for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
“He passed doing one of the things he loved the most,” said daughter-in-law Laura Wisner.
An autopsy is pending and the cause of death has not yet been determined, Heyden said.
Wisner was born June 18, 1942, in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, and joined the newly created Peace Corps after graduating from Ohio’s Wittenberg University.
As a Peace Corps volunteer, Wisner taught agricultural practices to farmer in Niger, West Africa. The experience gave him a lifelong love for exploring the world and different cultures, relatives said.
After obtaining a master’s degree from Michigan State University, Wisner, his wife, Jane, and their two children, Mark and Sara, moved to Colorado Springs where he was dean of students at UCCS from 1979 to 2003.
Since retiring, Wisner and his wife spent a year teaching in Copenhagen and twice circled the globe as staff of the Semester at Sea program.
He hiked, bicycled and skied with family and was a marathon runner and member of area running clubs. Among the groups to which he belonged or volunteered for were the U.S. Olympic Committee, Vail Music Festival, Pikes Peak Library District, Tri-Lakes Transportation Services for Seniors and Citizen’s Project.
He served as a board member of the Karen Possehl Endowment for Non-Traditional Women’s Scholarships, UCCS chancellor’s Leadership Class, Pikes Peak Area Peace Corps Alumni and Kids on Bikes.
“Ron had the passion of someone half his age,” Laura Wisner said. “This was a tragic shock. It just was not his time.”
He is survived by his wife, two children and two grandchildren, all of whom live in Colorado.
Memorial services will be held Friday at 10 a.m. at Hillside Gardens, 100 S. Institute St. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made in Ron’s honor to Kids on Bikes.
“Kids on Bikes, and especially its ABC’s program, enables me to assist young children to discover the amazing things they’re able to accomplish if they simply develop the ability to channel their considerable energies and abilities; of course, the “carrot” of a free bicycle is a powerful learning incentive!” – Ron Wisner
