George Julian Pastor, age 81, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, April 4, 2018 at the Colorado State Veterans Center at Homelake in Monte, Vista, Colorado. He was a longtime resident of Silverton, Colorado. George was born to Jorge Vicente Pastor and Erika Elizabeth Lauter Pastor in San Jose, Costa Rica on March 16, 1937, where he lived for the first seven years of his life. He spent the rest of his boyhood in The Pine Barrens of Farmingdale, New Jersey.

George proudly served in the United States Marine Corps over the span of several years including the Vietnam War. He was honorably discharged as a First Lieutenant. George attended college at San Francisco State, earning a Bachelor’s degree in 1962. He later attended the University of California at Berkeley where he earned a Master’s degree in Physical Education. He also attended Loughborough College of Physical Ed. in Leicestershire, England.

George was working in the San Juan Mountains as an instructor for Colorado Outward Bound when he arrived in Silverton. During that summer he was offered a job teaching social studies in the Silverton Public School. There was no Physical Education program in the school at that time. George soon created a core K-12 Physical Education program, as well as extensive Outdoor Education programs. He was passionate about teaching young people the skills needed to enjoy being in the outdoors, and the importance of physical activity. He retired from the Silverton Public School after 22 years of teaching.

Throughout his time in Silverton, George was also an instructor in seven different Outward Bound Schools, a Nordic Ski Touring Director in the early years of Purgatory’s Nordic program, certified PSIA Ski Touring Instructor and Examiner, a certified mountain ski touring guide, and participated many years in the Silverton Avalanche School as an instructor with his trained avalanche rescue dogs. He contributed to the community as a member of the Ambulance Assoc. Volunteer Fire Dept., and EMT, and served many years on the San Juan Search and Rescue Team.

His favorite past-time activities were in the outdoors farming, sailing, hunting, fishing, backpacking, and climbing in the mountains. George also loved his dogs and trained them for hunting as well as avalanche rescue.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Jorge Vicente Pastor and Erika Elizabeth Lauter Barkalow, and his first wife Kristina Pastor. He is survived by his former wife Pamela Pastor of Durango; sister Virginia “Tiny” Pastor of Stanhope, Iowa and Anna Pastor of San Jose, Costa Rica; son Andreas Pastor of Sweden, daughter Carmen Pastor of Colorado and son Kendal Pastor of Alaska; as well as three nephews, one niece and two grandchildren.

George touched many lives over the years and those memories will live on.

A Celebration of Life will be planned at a later date.

Rogers Family Mortuary of Monte Vista is in care of the arrangements. Online condolences, tributes and remarks for George’s family may be left by visiting www.RogersFunerals.com