Arthur Kroonenberg, the third generation of his family to sell lumber in Denver, died in a hospice on Feb. 5. He was 80.
He had suffered from heart problems.
Kroonenberg and his brother, the late Clarence Kroonenberg, ran Kroonenberg Lumber, family-owned and in the same location for 75 years, at 1909 S. Broadway.
The lumber yard was started by the brothers’ grandfather, Jacob Kroonenberg, who came to the U.S. from Holland. He passed the business on to his son Cornelius (Neal), and it passed on to Arthur and Clarence. For a time, their sister, the late Carolyn Madden, was in the business.
“Dad had worked there from the time he was 12,” said Arthur Kroonenberg’s daughter, Jody Czillinger of Highlands Ranch.
“He was a loyal reserved guy” who rarely showed anger “until you got on the wrong side of him,” said Dick Snow of Elizabeth, a customer who became a friend.
“He wasn’t flamboyant or outgoing, but he was a good guy,” said another longtime customer, Aud Schaap, a builder who lives in Castle Rock.
Kroonenberg Lumber sold mostly to builders.
“He was a no-nonsense kind of guy,” said his wife, Carol Kroonenberg.
“I think he always liked the business,” his daughter said, “but he really loved horses and ranches.”
So the family bought 80 acres near Berthoud, remodeled a house and raised vegetables.
Kroonenberg was most comfortable in jeans and went to every National Western Stock Show rodeo and auction he could.
For many years, he rode with the Arapahoe County sheriff’s posse, often going into the mountains with other members to rescue stranded people.
“Sometimes, a vehicle couldn’t go where the horses could,” Czillinger said.
He and his brother built a second lumber yard in Berthoud in 1972 and owned it until 1998.
The family sold the Denver business in 1998.
Arthur Lee Kroonenberg was born in Denver on Dec. 12, 1929, and graduated from South High School. After serving with the Army in Korea, he rejoined the family business.
He married Carol Peerman on Aug. 5, 1970. In addition to her and daughter Jody Czillinger, he is survived by two other daughters: Kari Braswell of Aurora and Gayle Wright of Highlands Ranch; a son, John Kroonenberg of Littleton; seven grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
