Remembering Chris Engleman, musician, traveler and environmental advocate

Chris Arden Engleman, 69, of Boulder, passed away on Nov. 20, 2024. As recently as October this year, he was traveling in the UK with family and enjoying trail walks in the beautiful Lake District, but he was unable to overcome a sudden health crisis in the last weeks of his life despite the tremendous support of family and friends.

Chris’s lifelong profession was musician. He began classical bass at age 9 and continued through a year of college at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Throughout his life, beginning in his teens, he also played all types of popular music, learning electric bass, and making a living as a professional since the age of 15 when he obtained a special permit from the labor bureau with permission of his parents to play professionally in local nightclubs. He primarily played popular music for the rest of his career, which continued through the last year of his life. He also tutored many students on both upright and electric bass over decades, continuing into his 50s. His professional portfolio includes performance with many different local bands, some national and international tours, countless recording credits, and more than 30 years as the house bass player for the eTown radio music-variety show.

Chris was also very active in the community through music, volunteering, and part-time work using his Master of Library Science degree at the Boulder Public Library. He was a lifelong supporter of environmental causes, including contributions to Save the Redwoods League continuously since the age of 14.

Chris was born December 26, 1954, in Denver to mother Edythe (1929–2021) and father Keith (1925–2024), who died only one short week before Chris. From his parents, Chris inherited his love of international travel. The family hosted many international visitors in their home during Chris’s early years, and his parents became adventurous world travelers later in their lives. Chris also traveled as a young man to Europe with brothers Mark and Craig on multiple occasions.

His passion for travel was shared with his wife, Joan, whom he met in 2003, and together they extended their travel range to include South America, Africa, Australia, Asia, and many more trips and countries in Europe. His other passion was reading everything, including literature, poetry, philosophy, history, and international and travel-related works that he coordinated with his trip planning.

It’s impossible to briefly describe someone’s character, but a quote he once gave to his niece seems to come close: “Be silly. Be honest. Be kind.” That was Chris. Friends also loved his sense of humor, and many felt his humility and deep-seated integrity.

Chris and Joan so appreciated the tremendous outpouring of support from both sides of the family through his health crisis, especially our brothers and sisters and their families, as well as our wonderful friends and colleagues. A celebration of life will be scheduled at a later date to be announced.