Obituary: Walter Kinderman (past editor, Lyons Recorder)

(revised 12/14/22)

–Owner and Publisher of the Lyons Recorder 8/6/1981 to 10/17/1985

….Changed the name of the paper from The New Lyons Recorder back to its original name The Lyons Recorder with the 9/30/1982 edition of the paper

–July 16,1987, Walter and Patricia Kinderman again Publishers and Editor

….Changed the name to The Old Lyons Recorder. Owned until Oct 2000.

–Ran the Berthoud Recorder soon after getting the Lyons Recorder until Oct 2000

–Ran the Niwot Recorder for approximately five years during his Lyons Recorder ownership.

–Previously owned and ran the Colorado Statesmen newspaper in Denver, in the 1970s, for approximately five years, which was a political publication.

–Worked for presidential candidate Gary Hart, and would have followed him to Washington DC if Hart had become president.

Information on the Lyons Recorder portion was supplied by Lyons Redstone Museum

Obituary by sons Walter and Byran

Walter (Walt) Kinderman passed away peacefully in the Broomfield Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Sunday, December 4, 2022.  He was 85 years old.

A longtime Colorado resident, Walt was an US Army veteran who served his country in Korea in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  Following his military service, Walt married and settled in the Denver area where he had 3 sons.

In the 1970s, Walt bought The Colorado Statesman, one of Colorado’s oldest political newspapers, and was the publisher and editor of the publication for several years.

Walt moved to Lyons, Colorado in the early 1980s and was the owner, publisher, and editor of The Lyons Recorder Newspaper until his retirement and sale of the paper in October of 2000.  During that time, Walt was also the owner and publisher of The Berthoud Recorder and The Niwot Recorder Newspapers.

In 2020, due to declining health, Walt moved to the Broomfield Center for care and to be closer to family.

Walt was a lifelong Democrat and Colorado sports fan, and is credited with helping to bring the Colorado Rockies to Denver.  In Lyons, he was politically active, and was known to use his editorial prowess to promote political change in the community.  He was often seen at Town of Lyons meetings, and used the local paper to print truthful and often controversial stories over the years.  During his tenure in Lyons, Walt made many friends and was well-liked by all.

Walt is survived by his sister Eileen and brothers Quentin and Bill, three sons: Bryan (Patrice and children Cian and Caelyn); and, John; and Walter (Karen). 

Obituary by Lyons Recorder Editor (with notes from son John)

It is with sadness that we inform you that Walter (“Walt”) Kinderman passed away on December 4, 2022. He had been in a hospice facility for approximately a year and a half. His son John (California) visited him there as often as he could, with the last visit being in October (and he gave us the information to write up his Obituary). He said he and Walt had the same sense of humor and always had a good time visiting each other. Walt was also visited by good friend Linda LeFou (Lyons), who visited him weekly. He previously had been living in the Walt Self Housing apartment units in Lyons for a few years.

Walt was married to Joan for approximately nine years. She was from Oklahoma, and after divorce lived there, with the young children. They had three children:
==John in California ==Bryan in Superior, CO ==Walter in Chicago.

Walt was married to Patricia (“Patti”) Padilla for approximately 20 years. She was well-liked in the Lyons community. She brought with her, into the marriage, two children, Jake (deceased) and Ana.

Walt and Patti were a team running the Lyons Recorder weekly newspaper. While Ada Lou Hammans is mainly credited for starting the “New Lyons Recorder” newspaper and running it for about ten years, it was Walt who kept it going for almost 20 years after that. It went thru multiple owners and editors over the years. It stopped being printed in August 2019, and went to online publishing only in 2020. In approximately the last five years, he added the Berthoud Recorder, and the Niwot Recorder to his ownership.

Walt was a strong Democrat. He attended most Town of Lyons meetings. He printed factual, timely, and sometimes controversial stories. He was one of the strong fighters against Coffintop Dam in the 1980s. In later life, despite several serious health conditions, Walt lived an active life. Some say he sometimes could go too far with his jokes; and, he was known to be both cantankerous and a friendly, funny guy.

*******At this time there is no service or memorial planned. We will post any news of a future one.
……….As previous stated, the initial Obituary here 12/8/22 was based on an interview with his son John, and factual information commonly known in Town. A few days later his other two sons decided to contact the newspaper and write their own Obituary, which we have added here.

TRIBUTE in the Lyons Recorder – send in yours

As editor of the Lyons Recorder, I am collecting eulogies (memories, stories, statements) from people who knew him well …from past newspaper staff …from friends …from people who worked with him (such as town hall). We should be able to print these in next week’s newspaper, December 15, 2022. PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR STATEMENT as soon as possible to: LyonsRecorder.Editor@gmail.com (If you have an old photo of him in the 1980s, please send that in). …………..with greatest sympathy, Kathleen Spring, editor, Lyons Recorder