Obituary of Jacob Drotar

Jack (Jacob Phillip) Drotar, a farmer and rancher from the Matheson area until 2005, passed away April 13, 2006, in Colorado Springs at the age of 94. He was born on May 1, 1911, in Ramah, Colorado, the second of nine children to Fabian and Anna Drotar. Jack grew up on the Fabian Drotar homestead at Kutch, Colorado and attended Adobe Valley Public School. Growing up he loved horses, and rode on the plows while his dad cultivated his fields. Jack’s first job at the age of 14 was shucking corn in Nebraska for one dollar a day. During his early years he worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps for five dollars a month which he sent to his parents who had a difficult time during the drought and depression years. During World War II, he worked in the Pueblo steel mill and the Hanford, Washington atomic plant to participate in the war effort. Unknown by him at the time, he machined parts for the first atomic bombs. Jack married Marguerite (Margie) Sajbel in Calhan on Dec. 26, 1936. To this union were born four children, Madeline, Jim, Joe, and Frank. Jack farmed and ranched near Matheson at the original Sajbel farm which was homesteaded in 1908. When Jack took over the farm, there was no electricity or plumbing in the house which he soon installed. He was a forward thinker and kept up with technology (for example, his “horseâ€? was a four-wheeler and he carried a cell phone in his pocket until the end). The whole family participated in planting wheat and sorghum, running dairy cows and later beef cattle. All the kids remember getting up at 5 a.m. and milking the cows before they went off to school. Jack took great pride in raising healthy cattle which were prized at the auction market. During the time he operated a dairy farm, one year he was awarded the prize for the most productive milking cow. He was also very careful to prevent erosion on his land by proper terracing and drainage control. Jack loved to work on his farm he raised cattle, milked cows, planted, harvested, welded machinery and fixed equipment. This required work on most days from dawn to dusk. He was proud to be a member of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization. He was a man of integrity who always kept his word to his friends, family, and those he did business with, and managed to die debt free. He was a humble man who will be remembered for his faithfulness, generosity and integrity. His wife, Margie, passed away on March 17, 2000. He was also preceded in death by his parents Fabian and Anna Drotar, and six of his nine siblings: Mary, John, Tony, Anne, Francis, and Steve. Jack will be greatly missed by his four children and their spouses: Madeline and Allan, Jim, Joe and Pam, Frank and Kathy; 2 brothers: George and Duke; 5 grandchildren: Tina, Phil, Kelley, Sarah and Danika; 1 great grandchild; Joshua, relatives, and friends. His children say of both Jack and Margie, “If we could have chosen anyone for parents we would have chosen them.â€? Services will be held 10:00 a.m. Wednesday April 19, 2006 at St. Michaels Catholic Church. Visitation will be from 5-8:00 p.m. Tuesday April 18 at St. Michaels Catholic Church with Rosary to begin at 7:30 p.m. Memorial may be made to the Knight of Columbus of Limon P.O. Box 790 Limon, Colorado, 80828