George "Eddie" Stipe Woodworking Memorial Scholarship

George "Eddie" Stipe was born in Laramie, Wyoming on September 22, 1949, one of five children, Eddie grew up in Sinclair, Wyoming. He became an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), moved to Denver and worked as an EMT for several ambulance services in the Denver Metro area, he was also a volunteer firefighter and instructor for the Red Cross, he did this for many years. Later in life when he decided the emergency services profession, which he loved, was "a young man's game" he became an accounting professional mostly serving small businesses.

He had a life long love of woodworking and this became his passion, he owned a commercial wood shop for a few years making cabinets, furniture and custom pieces. When he retired he moved his shop into the garage at home and continued his beloved hobby with the assistance (sometimes reluctantly!) of his wife of 45 years, Jackie. As his health declined he adapted his shop to accommodate his wheelchair and started making beautiful hand turned pens and pencils, he was self taught with help from many YouTube videos and the expertise provided by the many friends he made in the pen turning world online. This love of pen turning motivated him to keep going way beyond all the healthcare providers predictions. Many a nurse, nursing assistant, doctor, EMT, paramedic, firefighter and police officer were the recipients of his pens over the years. Eddie ("the pen man") passed away in October 2021. I hope he is happily making sawdust somewhere!

We have established this memorial scholarship to honor Eddie. These funds will be used to provide scholarships for tuition, fees, tools or supplies for woodworking students at Red Rocks Community College.