Georgia Imhoff may have grown up an Idaho farmgirl, but the difference she made in the lives of abused and neglected children made her a respected leader in circles even she might never have dreamed of.
Imhoff died this morning after suffering a massive heart attack Aug. 29 in Silverthorne.
She was airlifted to St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver, where she remained in the cardiac intensive care unit until being entrusted to hospice care on Saturday. She had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in May and the disease had since spread to her liver.
“Georgia leaves a legacy to be remembered, respected and aspired to,” says Jesse Wolff, president and chief executive officer of the Kempe Children’s Foundation. “She was part of the soul of Kempe; her spirit is in the staff, the kids, our hallways and walls. Everywhere.”
Imhoff and her husband, Walt, a longtime leader in the brokerage and financial services industry, have supported Kempe since 1984. They led two of its capital campaigns which raised a total of $17 million. A $4.4 million effort in 1994 enabled the agency to move from its original locale — a former nunnery on Oneida Street — to a sleek, new edifice on Marion Street in Denver’s Uptown neighborhood.
A decade later, when it was decided the agency would be better served by relocating to the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, the Imhoffs led that funding campaign, too. Georgia founded the Kempe Alliance and served as its first president.
“Preventing child abuse is a passion for me. It’s just a heartfelt passion,” Georgia Imhoff said in 2002 when the Kempe Children’s Foundation gave her its Community Award.
The Georgia and Walt Imhoff Pavilion for Children and Families was dedicated at the Marion Street location in 1997, as was Georgia’s Garden, an oasis and play area for Kempe’s young clients.
Born on a sheep and wheat ranch in Arbon, Idaho, Georgia Imhoff received a bachelor of science degree in nursing from the University of Denver and after her graduation in 1955 she joined the U.S. Army Nurse Corps as a first lieutenant.
She was a surgical nurse and education coordinator at Rose Medical Center from 1962-73, raising two children as a single parent.
Georgia and Walt were married in June 1973, after a three-year courtship that began after being introduced at a by-invitation dance for single parents.
Daughter Stacy Ohlsson remembers her mother telling her and her brother, Randy, about how early in the relationship, on the way home, “a great song came on the radio and Walt pulled his MG over to the side of the road, turned up the music and they got out and danced.”
Still, “After dating for three years, she told him she did not want to spend the rest of her life alone and if he wasn’t interested in marriage, they should stop seeing each other,” recalls family friend Linda Goto.
“So Walt asked her to have dinner with him one more time. They ate at the Tiger’s Lair at Evans and I-25, and while they were on the dance floor he proposed.”
In 2001, Georgia founded Blacktie-Colorado, an online community spotlighting nonprofit organizations, with Kenton Kuhn.
It has since expanded to eight other cities and states and is about to launch in three more.
In August, Kuhn announced the establishment of the Georgia Imhoff Community Philanthropist and Volunteer Extraordinaire Award to be given at a gathering on Oct. 7. She also was to have been honored at a Sept. 11 tea, Women Who’ve Changed The Heart of The City, benefiting Denver Rescue Mission.
Imhoff chaired such major fundraising galas as the Brass Ring Luncheon, the University of Denver Korbel Dinner, and the Friends of Nursing Scholarship Luncheon, and has received honors ranging from Girl Scout Woman of Distinction to the Easter Seals Edgar R. “Daddy” Allen Award. Arapahoe House named her its Pillar of the Community in 1999 and in 1996 she was recognized as the Outstanding Volunteer Fund Raiser at the National Philanthropy Day Luncheon.
In addition to her husband and children, Imhoff is survived by her brother, Gene Stewart of Pocatello, Idaho; her sister, Shirley, of Orem, Utah; Walt’s children, Mike Imhoff, of Greenwood Village; Theresa Imhoff Schaefer of Wanaque, N.J., and Robert Imhoff of Los Angeles; and eight grandchildren.
Funeral services are pending.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com
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