Barbara Evert lived life to the fullest all the way to the end.
Evert, 77, of Englewood fell more than 100 feet and died instantly in the Grand Canyon on Thursday as a part of a two-week rafting and camping adventure.
On Sunday, family and friends gathered at her home in Englewood to begin planning a fitting memorial. Details are not yet complete.
“She went out doing what she loved,” said her best friend and frequent travel partner, Ardis Rohwer, 78, as she held a picture of them together on a 10th Mountain Division Hut ski trip in the Colorado backcountry last year. “She was cycling or hiking or climbing somewhere her whole life.”
Despite her advanced years, Evert was a fixture at such events, as well as hiking, climbing and cycling trips on several continents. She competed in such races as Ride the Rockies and the Elephant Rock Cycling Festival in recent years.
“She was an adventurous, strong woman who loved the outdoors,” said her niece, Megan Wilhite.
On Thursday, Evert was among 14 members of the Golden-based Colorado Mountain Club hiking down the Grand Canyon’s Tabernacle Route near Upper Rattlesnake when she fell, according to the National Park Service.
Evert’s body was airlifted from the canyon, but other members of the club on the trip continued rafting down the river for several more days. A memorial will be finalized when they return, friends said.
Evert is survived by two sisters, Kleo Dredla of Hyannis, Neb., and Judy Looney of Roseburg, Ore.
She retired as a math teacher at Englewood High School in 1987. A native of Hyannis, she had lived in Colorado for 45 years.
In 1982, she completed a climb on all 54 of Colorado’s fourteeners. Her friends recalled numerous fundraisers, trips and other community events she organized and led. Each Sunday, she attended Central Presbyterian Church in Denver.
Her friend Karen Hickey recalled Evert’s take-charge spirit and patient personality. Hickey was Evert’s first rock-climbing instructor in 1969.
“She quickly passed me and went on to be the director of the rock-climbing club,” Hickey said.
She added, “She was an adventurer. I called her a Colorado classic. She’s a classic lady.”
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
