Earl Laughlin literally helped light Denver.
Laughlin, who died Aug. 7 at age 95 at a Lakewood care center, helped make the 22-foot-high Olinger mortuary cross on Mount Lindo in the foothills southwest of Denver, made thousands of neon “Coors Beer on Tap” signs for bars, and built and installed the first “Walk/Don’t Walk” signs in downtown Denver.
He made a 5-foot neon cross for downtown’s Calvary Baptist Church, where it remained on the organ pipes for 50 years, until the congregation moved to southeast Denver, said his son Don Laughlin of Aurora.
Earl Laughlin loved the neon work and selling his ideas to prospective customers, his son said.
Also, his father’s car trunk was full of “boxes of cigars” so he always had some to hand out.
Laughlin helped design the neon bull and cow sign atop Carlson-Frink Dairy, as well as the “W”s that were on each side of the downtown Western Federal Savings building and the “H” on top of the downtown Hilton Hotel (now the Adam’s Mark Hotel).
Laughlin’s kids helped him make signs at a studio on Bannock Street near downtown, said his daughter, Cynthia Stratton of Lakewood.
Laughlin’s other passion was singing. He sang with the Olinger Quartet, a group hired by the mortuary to sing at funerals; the Calvary Baptist Church choir; and the Lions Glee Club. Also, he was on the radio weekly with the KOA Men of the West singers.
The Laughlin family Christmas Eve observance was always delayed because Earl Laughlin sang with groups that visited area hospitals.
With his family gathered at his bedside the night before he died, he struggled to sing a Christmas carol.
Laughlin did all the family grocery shopping, always loaded down with coupons he had clipped. “We never had one of anything,” said Don Laughlin.
Stratton, in fact, recalls her dad buying “10 of everything” on sale or when he had coupons.
“We must have a ton of coffee left over,” said Don Laughlin.
Earl Gladstone Laughlin was born June 21, 1912, in Lake Geneva, Wis.
He attended Linfield College in McMinville, Ore., working in the dorm kitchen to help pay his way.
He learned to cook there and in the National Guard, and for the rest of his life he specialized in chili, fudge and barbecue.
After college, he moved to Salt Lake City to work for his brother, Dewey Laughlin, at an electric-sign company.
The two formed Art Neon Co., and in 1952, Earl Laughlin left to form Denver Electric and Neon Service Corp.
He retired and sold the company in 1965 and worked in the office of a construction company until he was 76.
He met Anna Ruth Hill at Calvary Baptist Church. They were married April 17, 1938.
In addition to his wife, son and daughter, Earl Laughlin is survived by two other sons, George Laughlin of Denver and Robert Laughlin of Las Vegas; 10 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com.
