Few knew the battles Ed Uhl went through.
Uhl, who died in Denver at 51, was happily married and a father, had a successful business as a financial planner, was a sports enthusiast and was involved in civic activities.
But he had a never-ending struggle with his bipolar illness that required constant balancing of medications.
He and his wife, Cynthia Lane Ritter, worked at keeping down the stress in his life because an overload could lead to an “episode,” she said. He also required predictability and was more comfortable when things were minutely planned out.
The swings from highs to lows in his illness were dramatic, and medicine needed to be increased when the manic highs got out of control. When the medicines worked – “putting a cap” on the manic phase – Uhl and Ritter would begin cutting back to the previous dose, but it was always touch and go.
A brain tumor that eventually killed him went undetected for a time and caused symptoms similar to those of his illness.
But when blinding headaches started and he realized he was losing some peripheral vision, Uhl and Ritter decided tests were needed. He lived 92 days after the diagnosis.
Uhl was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when he was 18.
Pete Pryor of Lexington, Ky., a friend since junior high school, called Uhl a “generous man who was a great father and always wanted to help people, but with himself he could be tight as wallpaper.”
“He had a car that was 20 years old and getting rusty,” said Pryor, a horse veterinarian.
Uhl gave time and money to Bayaud Industries, which helps people with mental, physical and emotional problems; Step 13, which helps those with addictions; Big Brothers Big Sisters; and the Colorado Alliance for the Mentally Ill.
His life was celebrated with an aloha event, complete with a roasted pig, “volcanoes,” canoes and waterfalls, held at Four Mile Historic Park.
Not long before he died, Uhl said that, despite all the struggles, “I have lived a good life and had more than I ever thought I could have,” Ritter recalled.
Edward Jess Uhl was born Jan. 31, 1955, in Denver and graduated from Metropolitan State College. He was a certified public accountant and a certified financial planner. He owned Uhl Financial Management.
“Work was his anchor,” Ritter said.
He and Ritter had been friends in high school, then lost touch for years.
After Ritter’s first marriage ended in divorce, she contacted Uhl, who had never married. They married in 1992.
In addition to his wife, Uhl is survived by his son, Joseph Thomp son Uhl of Denver; two stepchildren, Seth Aaron Steingraeber and Sterling Noah Steingraeber; and his mother, Paulina Riede Uhl of Denver.
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at 303-820-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com.
