Merle Rolfs

Merle Dean Rolfs
February 3, 1935 – January 21, 2024
Merle Dean Rolfs, 88, of Windsor, CO passed away with family by his side on
January 21, 2024. Merle was born February 3, 1935, to Walter and Lydia
(Schroeder) Rolfs in Lorraine, Kansas.
Merle treasured growing up on the family farm in Lorraine where he learned his
love and value of family, hard work, church, school, sports, and friends.  After
graduating from McPherson College, he was fortunate to get a teaching job in
Peabody, KS.  That same year he was inducted into the U.S. Army and went to Fort
Chaffee, Arkansas for basic training, then was stationed at Brooke Army Medical
Center at Fort Sam Houston. After being discharged from the Army, he began his
teaching career in Kansas at Alexander, Holyrood, and Oberlin. In 1965 Poudre
High School opened and he moved to Fort Collins to teach in the Driver’s
Education Program, which included Rocky Mountain High School and Fort Collins
High School.  During his teaching career, he coached football, basketball, and
track.  He met his loving wife, Diane (Koehler) Rolfs in 1981 and they were married
April 16, 1983, at Christ Congregational Church in Fort Morgan.  He ended his 40
year teaching career at Webber Junior High in 1998.  It brought him great joy
throughout his retirement years to have heard from so many of his past students
and the impact that he had on their lives.  
Merle loved the Colorado outdoors, especially the North Park and Lake City areas.
He would often share highlights of his excursions that usually included fishing,
rafting, camping with family, ATVing, and riding the local bike trails. It was always a
pleasure to listen to Merle retell stories as he had many to share from a wonderful
life well lived.  He could talk of his adventures fishing and camping and those from
the family farm for hours and he would laugh and make you feel like you were
reliving the moment right with him.   He shared these memories when he
completed his autobiography.
Merle and Diane shared 41 years of marriage and enjoyed their retirement
together.  Many fond adventures were made camping with the old green canvas
tent.  Later years Merle and Diane had the privilege to enjoy numerous trips
across the country, often for months at a time, taking the backroads and exploring
new places in their RV.  Arizona was their favorite vacation destination.  They

enjoyed watching and attending professional sporting events together and both
shared Merle’s affection for the men’s KU Jayhawks basketball team.
Merle had a wonderful sense of humor and could make any activity or project fun.
He had many talents and interests and there was not anything that he could not
accomplish, everything from landscaping, remodeling, woodworking, and even
building his and Diane’s dream home.  
Merle was proud of where he came from, worked hard, lived a blessed life, and
had a life-long love for Christ.  He found peace listening to Christian music and
prayer.  Merle was a member of Timberline Church.
A service will be at Timberline Church in Fort Collins, CO, February 1, 2024, 11 AM.
Inurnment will be at Serenity Falls Riverside Cemetery, Fort Morgan, CO, February
2, 2024, 11 AM.
Many were blessed to know Merle.  Those left to cherish these memories are his
wife Diane (Koehler) Rolfs, his sister, Lois Slabach, Clearwater, KS., sons Kirk (Amy)
Rolfs, Berthoud, CO and Scott (Sharon) Rolfs, Jeffersonville, IN., grandchildren
Bailey Woods, Brooke Rolfs, Spencer (Kelsey) Rolfs, Lydia Rolfs, Jesse Rolfs, Micah
Rolfs, great grandchildren Kylee Bunch, Caleb Bunch, Ayden Reynolds, sister in
laws Dorothy Rolfs, Albuquerque, NM, Joan Rolfs, Ellsworth, KS., sister and
brother in laws Randy and Rhonda (Koehler) Jess, Fort Morgan, CO and Bryan and
Pamela (Koehler) Weimer, Littleton, CO.  Merle’s many nieces and nephews will
hold his memory close to their hearts forever as well.
Merle is preceded in death by his parents Walter and Lydia (Schroeder) Rolfs,
sisters Arlene Prentice, Laverne Trebilcock, Marilyn Nickel, brothers Melvin Rolfs,
Ron Rolfs, and his father and mother-in-law, Edward and Gladys (Preisendorf)
Koehler.