Garvene Hales Eriksen died peacefully in her sleep on January 1, 2024, 25 years to the day that her first husband, lawyer James C Owen Jr, passed away. Even though they were only married for 10 years, they remained great friends, marvelously in synch in life as in death; having married on February 3rd; having their first son, J. Churchill Owen III one year later; having their second son, Taylor Mann Owen, two years later, on the exact same date … a fact noted in the newspaper at the time. They were quite a pair, driving about Denver in Jim’s 1954 Jaguar XK140 convertible, brought over on the sister ship of the Andria Doria after their honeymoon in Europe. They were very active socializing with their many friends in the Denver Country Club and Denver business community.
Garvene was a free-spirited and independent woman. She moved to Aspen, which at the time was home to many one-off characters, artists, and free thinkers – Garvene fit right in. She married Stein Eriksen, a famous skier and Olympic gold medalist, and they had three children: Ava Eriksen, Stein Eriksen, Jr (deceased) and Anja Eriksen. Garvene was a tall, athletic, beautiful woman and Stein was a charismatic and handsome man. They traveled all over the world, modeling ski clothing and equipment for their good friends Willie Bogner, Willie Scheffler and Howard Head, and filming movies with Warren Miller. Stein ran the ski schools at Aspen Mountain and Highlands. So, the house was always filled with Norwegian instructors and racers drinking aquavit and singing Scandinavian folk songs. Garvene was a savvy businesswoman and real estate investor and also managed their ski shops in Aspen and Snowmass.
After a marriage of many years with Stein, Garvene later married fellow Aspenite, Andy Burden, and they traveled the country on his motorcycle. Garvene was always happy being on the move and her years spent with Andy were some of her happiest.
Garvene’s independent life eventually led her to Santa Barbara where she spent time on retreats at the Mt. Shasta Zen Center. Then, on to Lopez Island, where she lived for many years by herself enjoying a passion for gardening and painting. She loved the island life and had many friends and family nearby that would visit and enjoy time with her in her beautiful garden.
Eventually, her sons asked her to move closer to them in Boulder, where she spent the rest of her days gardening, painting, and playing the piano with her little rat terrier, Brix.
In addition to her children and their spouses: Elizabeth Owen, Nancy Owen and Brian Evans, “Granny Gar” is survived by her grandchildren: Allyson Elizabeth Shoun, Nathaniel James Owen, Nicholas Mann Owen, Jamesy Churchill Owen, Finn Eriksen, Lars Eriksen, Isabella Gray Evans, Gray Eriksen Evans, and her great grandchildren: Emma Lawson Shoun-Petsch, Samantha Catherine Shoun, Sloane James Owen, Adeline Birdie Owen, Whitney Louise Owen, Cash Davis Owen, Winter Nor Sparks and Wyatt James Owen, and her great, great, granddaughter, Eberly Jo Shoun-Petsch
