In his beloved backyard where he hosted famed Fourth of July parties, James Garvey died and was buried by snow sometime during last week’s blizzard.
Garvey, who specialized in linguistics at Colorado State University for 34 years, was found buried in the snow after neighbors became worried over his disappearance days earlier during the storm.
“Jim was well-known for his annual Fourth of July parties; his backyard was a perfect place to view Fort Collins’ official fireworks display at City Park,” said professor Bruce Ronda, chairman of the school’s English department. “We are all very saddened by this sudden and shocking loss of our colleague and friend.”
Garvey, 62, is believed to have died of natural causes Wednesday but wasn’t found until Saturday, according to officials at the Larimer County coroner’s office.
Police indicated he may have been shoveling snow during the first day of the storm that dropped more than 2 feet of snow in Fort Collins.
Garvey led classes in a variety of subjects, including grammar, semantics, pragmatics, discourse analysis and the history of English.
“Jim was interested in language and education, in global English and in ‘discourse studies,’ which is the uses of language in ordinary circumstances,” Ronda said.
Garvey co-wrote “Communication, Language and Grammar: A Course for Teachers” with Gerald Delahunty, the vice chairman of the English department. Delahunty declined to comment on his colleague’s death.
Another retired English professor, David Lindstrom, recalled the soft-spoken Garvey as being a thoughtful instructor who formed good relationships with students.
“He was very concerned for students, was somebody who really cared about individual students,” Lindstrom said.
Upon retiring to professor emeritus status in 2005, he established three scholarships in his name.
Outside the university, Garvey took delight in cooking for friends and participating in the Larimer Chorale, a 120- member group of singers that claimed him as a founding member.
“He was a baritone,” said Lindstrom, the president of the chorale.
“He retired from the chorale three or four years ago. We are in our 30th season, so he was with us for something like 25 years. In addition, for many years he sang in the chorus of Opera Fort Collins and played organ for his church.”
Garvey was divorced and did not have any children.
Described as having a dry, sly wit and self-effacing manner, Garvey was fondly recalled for entertaining during those warm summer evenings at his home, as friends gathered around the gazebo and he grilled burgers on the barbecue.
“He was very proud of that backyard,” said Martin Bucco, another former English department colleague.
Staff writer Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495 or slipsher@denverpost.com.
