A few months ago, The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County lost a friend.
Theo Ertl, a Colorado pioneer descendant, was a strong, independent spirit who stayed in her own home until her passing on Jan. 6 at age 98. She was also an athlete, arts patron and philanthropist, and one of The Community Foundation’s earliest supporters.
“Theo and her family were among the very first donors to The Community Foundation,” recalls Josie Heath, President, who helped facilitate an interview of Theo by the NBC Nightly News on the subject of philanthropy some years ago. “The entire Ertl family, with Theo as matriarch, believe in giving back and volunteering. Theo believed everyone has something to give!”
Theo and her husband, Tell, instilled the spirit of giving in their five children, including daughter (and eventual caregiver) Twig.
“I think my mother learned about giving as the daughter of a country doctor in Northwestern Washington during the Great Depression,” Twig says. “More often than not, his patients couldn’t pay him except in food and knit items, and all sorts of things that he accepted in lieu of money. I think that impressed my mother, that he kept providing needed services regardless of his patients’ ability to pay.
“Her father accepted what was offered him, understanding the difference between a handout and a hand up as a means of empowerment. That’s where my mother saw giving in action.”
Growing up, Twig remembers her mother “giving in the ways of a mother.”
“She was head of the 4-H group, and she was always baking and giving people cookies — even clerks at grocery stores,” she says. “She supported the foundation but also gave privately to people in need. She drove cancer patients to their treatments. And when she herself was in her 80s, she volunteered to sit with the ‘elderly.’ She simply helped individuals who came into her life.”
While the Ertls were of modest means during Twig’s growing up years, as the family came into more money, the concept of community giving took hold.
“Recognition of any kind was never her idea of fun,” Twig remembers about her mother. “Anonymously, she purchased a building in Lafayette to provide a home for the Center for the Musical Arts (formerly named Rocky Mountain Center for Musical Arts).
“Her example helped me look at the world in terms of helping out where I can…sometimes in small ways, sometimes in bigger ways.”
Indeed, Twig aspires to continue her mother’s legacy of generosity – and to emulate Theo’s strong sense of self. “Everyone who knew her felt supported by her, including her children and her grandchildren. I just talked to a woman who called my mom almost every week — she was telling me how hard it was not to be able to reach out to her now.”
Perhaps best of all, Theo never lost her purpose — or her sense of humor. “While she didn’t like parties or crowded places, she loved people and the beauty around her,” says Twig. “She never worried about how she presented herself, or who she was in the world. She was just naturally gracious and generous with people.”
And she’s greatly missed.
Donations in Theo Ertl’s memory can be made to the Ertl Family Fund at The Community Foundation.
