Larry Neal Kilborn

Larry Neal Kilborn was a kind and compassionate man with a fantastic sense of humor. His ready smile and hearty handshake helped make others feel at ease.  Larry’s quiet kindness, delightful sense of humor, and charming smile will be missed by all who knew him.

            Larry was born on July 30, 1935, in Chickasha, Oklahoma, the only child of E.E. and Ruth Kilborn. He grew up in Chickasha until he attended Wentworth Military Academy in Kansas. After graduating from Wentworth in 1955, Larry attended the University of Oklahoma and received his Bachelor’s of Architecture in 1960. Upon graduating from college, Larry moved to Lakewood, Colorado, where he met the love of his life, Dixie (Fitzwater) Kilborn.

            Seven days after Dixie graduated from the University of Nebraska, Larry and Dixie married in Imperial, Nebraska, on June 16, 1962. The couple moved to Lakewood, Colorado, where they started their lives together. In November 1966, Larry and Dixie moved to Evergreen, Colorado.

Larry worked in several architectural firms until he joined the National Park Service in 1974. During his thirty-one-year career with the Park Service, Larry had the opportunity to work on many different projects. Larry was on the team that helped the Park Service implement a Computer-Aided Drafting System, helping move them into the computer age. Larry’s projects ranged from working on a comfort station at George Washington Birthplace National Monument to ending his career with a new administration and maintenance complex for Tumacacori National Historical Park. 

Over the years, Larry worked on different buildings in the Carlsbad Caverns National Park, the Canaveral National Seashore, and the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument. Larry also worked on projects for Fort Moultrie at Fort Sumter National Monument, Fort Jefferson at Dry Tortugas National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Ocmulgee National Monument, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Gettysburg National Military Park, Jean Lafitte National Historical Park, and the Everglades National Park. Larry had the unique honor of designing the Everglades National Park visitor center twice - once in the late 1980s and again after Hurricane Andrew destroyed his previous work in 1992. 

While with the National Park Service, Larry was recognized multiple times for his outstanding performance. He received a Certificate of Excellence Award in 1994 and 1995 and the Outstanding Performance Award in 1999 for contributing to a low-energy and sustainable Zion Canyon Transportation System facility at Zion National Park. Larry retired in January 2004, proud of the work he completed during his career. 

Larry's lifelong passion for baseball and football led to his avid support of the Denver Broncos and Colorado Rockies. Larry and his wife Dixie shared a love of antiques and Navajo weavings. In his retirement, Larry enjoyed researching antiques, Navajo weavings, and collectibles, learning about his ancestry, supporting Dixie in her second career, and spending time with his children and grandchildren. 

On March 26, 2024, Larry Kilborn passed away at 88. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Dixie. Larry is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Jody and Denny Wright; his son and daughter-in-law, Brad and Sarah Kilborn; and his three grandchildren, Arie Wright, Aaron Kilborn, and Noah Kilborn.

            Larry’s service will be held on May 25, 2024, at 11:00 am at the Church of The Transfiguration in Evergreen, Colorado. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you donate to the Evergreen Animal Protective League in Larry Kilborn’s name.