Michael Henry Tripp…April 28, 1954 – June 20, 2015

Funeral services for Michael Tripp will be held at 10:00 a.m. Friday, June 26, 2015 at the Friend’s Church in Las Animas, Colorado with Diane Hutson officiating. Visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Thursday, June 25, 2015 at Horber Funeral Chapel.

Michael Henry Tripp was born on April 28, 1954, in Edgerton, Wisconsin to William and Doris (Nottleman) Tripp. He passed away on June 20, 2015, in Pueblo, Colorado at the age of 61.

When Mike was young his family moved to Colorado where his father worked as a soil scientist near Hugo and Monte Vista.  He graduated from Georgia Military College while he was in the Army.  Michael proudly served his country during the Vietnam Era.  After his military service, he moved to Craig, Colorado where he worked for many years as an electrician.  There he met Charmaine Dee Hutchins and they wed on July 8, 1983.  They moved to Las Animas, Colorado and Michael began his career at the Fort Lyon Veterans Hospital as a machine operator and as a union official for the AFL-CIO until the Fort closed.  He then worked at the Bent County Correctional Facility until his death.

It’s been said that we can demonstrate who we are through our work but that our jobs do not define us. Each of us is also much more.  For Mike, “much more” meant being a husband, father and grandfather, a fisherman, and a person who took both solace and inspiration from the wide open spaces and the overarching sky. We look to those spaces and that sky at times of unexpected loss. In those same places, we look for, and find, Michael Henry Tripp.

Michael is survived by his wife Charmaine Dee (Hutchins) Tripp; his daughters, Kassandra Tripp of Atlanta Georgia, Deniece (George) Armijo of Pueblo West, Colorado, and Vanessa Tripp of Pueblo, Colorado; brothers, Jim and Doug; sister, Cindy Tripp; grandchildren, Desiree Armijo, Hailey Armijo, Rebecca Armijo, George Armijo Jr., and Antal Vida; mother-in-law, Beverly Hutchins; sister-in-law Colleen Armstrong; and brothers-in-law, Curtis Hutchins and Curtis Armstrong.

Michael was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Daniel and William Tripp, and his father-in-law William Edgar “Bill” Hutchins.

Memorial contributions may be made to Horber Funeral Chapel, P.O. Box 431, Las Animas, CO 81054.

For more information, or to leave online condolences, please visit www.horberfuneralchapel.com