Paul Wilbert in a selfie taken during a recent five-week bike tour in Tasmania. The local landscape architect known for his work with Oxbow and the Peter Carver Memorial Forest, among other things, died suddenly on Fri., March 18, from a heart attack at the age of 60./Courtesy photo

Seeing the forest for the trees

Friends, family recall life of visionary who forever changed Durango’s landscape

by Missy Votel

Visionary. Renaissance man. Musician. Artist. Lover of beer. Tree hugger.

No matter who you ask, he or she seems to have a story about Paul Wilbert, the longtime Durangoan who suddenly died of a heart attack Fri., March 18.

Wilbert, 60, was a landscape architect, who – much like the countless trees he planted throughout the area – was at once deeply rooted while branching out to touch numerous aspects of local life.  

Passegiatta for Paul Sat., March 26, 3 p.m. Friends and family of Paul Wilbert are invited to gather Saturday afternoon to pay tribute Durango style: with a bike parade. “One of his favorite things to do in the summer was something he called la passegiatta,” Wilbert’s daughter Emily McGough said. “We’d get together on bikes and take a parade down Main Avenue and take up a whole lane.” Much like the Italian afternoon tradition from which it takes its name, Saturday’s promenade will start at 3 p.m. at Buckley Park. From there, the procession will head to the Powerhouse Science Center, where there will be a social hour followed by a celebration at 5 p.m. Memorial contributions may be made to the Peter Carver Memorial Forest c/o Trails 2000, P.O. 3868, Durango, CO 81302; or at www.trails2000.org.

“He had his fingers in everything from tree planting, bicycle riding, backpacking, river running to community service. He was a true community hero,” Peter Schertz, owner of Maria’s Bookshop and friend of Wilbert’s, said. “But he was very humble. That’s how he wanted it.”

Schertz, along with family and friends, gathered at Wilbert’s hillside downtown home – one he built himself in the late ’80s – to go through his affects and reminisce about the man who left an indelible mark on the community.

Indeed, his house is a testament to a life well traveled, well lived and well loved – from shelves of books, to boxes of maps, walls of photos, an impressive array of instruments and a handbuilt wooden dory hanging from the garage rafters.

“He saw value in everything,” said daughter Emily McGough, 30, who now lives in Ophir with her husband, Tim.

“… and if it didn’t, it might some day,” added family friend Claire Carver.

Wilbert was a man of many interests and passions – chief among them the dusty small town at the foot of the San Juans where he, along with former wife, Felicia Libo, made their home in 1984.

“His death has been quite shocking, communitywide,” friend and former city arborist Ron Stoner said Tuesday. “He was part of everything, every board possible.”

For starters, Wilbert was a member of the city’s Natural Lands Advisory, Parks and Rec, and Multimodal boards. He helped found the Durango Discovery Museum, which morphed into the Powerhouse (which he also had a hand in getting started.) In addition to the civic landscape, he also left a mark on the natural landscape. He was instrumental in turning a small strip of asphalt into the town’s main alternative artery, the Animas River Trail, and transformed a patch of black top at Park Elementary into a nature preserve. Many of the trees along the River Trail or other public spaces – there’s a chance Wilbert had a hand in them, too.

Stoner credits Wilbert’s “quirky vision” with beautifying Durango and bringing back many of the native trees long missing from the town, such as Douglas fir. “His goal was to make Durango a better place through trees and landscaping. He’ll be missed,” he said.

Stoner, who served as city arborist for 30 years, first met Wilbert when Stoner and his wife moved to Durango in 1985. Over the years, he came to know Wilbert well on a personal and professional level. “He was the go-to guy. When we needed advice, we’d say, ‘Let’s call Paul.’” 

Lately, Wilbert had been working on a plan for Oxbow Preserve, but his coup de grace, without a doubt, is the yet-to-be finished Peter Carver Memorial Forest along the Fort Lewis College Rim atop Chapman Hill. When all is said and done, the project – which was paid for, in part, by a GOCO grant as well as matching funds from the Peter Carver Memorial fund, the City of Durango and Fort Lewis College – will entail 200 new trees, a sitting area, geology overlook and four interpretive displays, including a 5-by-8-foot replica sculpture of the San Juan skyline to the west.

In other words, Wilbert thought big.

“‘Think outside the box’ – that wasn’t even a term that was around back then – but you could see his depth and vision,” said Stoner.

But, at the same time, Wilbert had the rare dual ability to think small and stay grounded, friends said. To gather all the moving pieces and parts, and make things work. “He had made so many connections,” Stoner said. “If you got a call from Paul, you knew you were putting money or a shovel in. He was really able to pull people together.”

It was this part of his job that Wilbert relished most, said Emily. “He always wanted to work together with people. The process was more important than the final product sometimes,” she said. 

A lantern sits on a rock at the Peter Carver Memorial Forest, atop the Fort Lewis College Rim. When finished, the site will include interpretive dipslays, including a peak finder and geological display.

Friends attribute this to Wilbert’s ability to listen to others, one on one. “Paul took great joy in having people feel listened to,” another close friend, Bill Carver, said. He first met Wilbert upon  moving to Durango in 1986 to start his brewpub with his brother, Jim. It was during Wilbert’s carpenter and cabinet maker days, before his landscape company took off. The two, and their families, became close friends. “He always paid close attention to whomever he was talking to,” said Carver.  “I think this is one of the many reasons Paul was such a joy to be around, and why Paul's life seemed so full and spacious at the same time.”

And speaking of space, Wilbert’s Bohemian, multi-story home was – and still is – a gathering place for ages young and old. “The last few evenings of gatherings continue to illustrate how Paul's friends know no age boundary. At least half the crowd are people in their 20s,” said Carver.

The house was a popular spot for impromptu parties on the patio, late-night jam sessions (Wilbert played standup bass, mandolin, banjo and even accordion) or dinners around the large, round kitchen table. To say there’s an open-door policy is an understatement.

“There were always a lot of people staying over,” Wilbert’s son, Thomas, 28, said. “He would come down in the morning and there’d be people sleeping on couches, and he’d make them coffee.”

Wilbert’s generosity and hospitality spilled over to strangers as well. An avid cyclist, he was active with “Warm Showers,” a sort of Air BnB for touring cyclists, which offers a free place to spend the night, take a shower, cook a meal or maybe even do laundry. 

“I had to wait an extra week for a new back wheel & bad weather,” wrote one reviewer of his stay with Wilbert. “Paul was completely understanding and kind. He has a plethora of friends that cycle through his house, odds are you'll meet 10 people in your first 30 mins. There might even be a large communal dinner. Trust me, Paul's is where you wanna stay ... but that hill up to the house is no joke.”

It’s safe to say, next to trees, bikes were Wilbert’s second-greatest passion. A native of California’s Mill Valley, he started bike touring as a teen-ager to get to summer jobs at various national parks. He introduced it to his kids, and over the years, took numerous multi-day trips, the longest a six-month trek from Athens to London. Just two days before his death, he had returned from a five-week trip with a friend in Tasmania.

“He was an adventurer, but not an adrenaline junkie,” said Emily, who is expecting her first child – a girl – in August.

Rather, Wilbert was in search of the path less traveled. According to lore, he avoided 14ers because they were too crowded, preferring to climb lesser peaks instead. Or, he would find his own way. “He liked hikes that were off trail,” said Carver.

Friends noted Wilbert had a playful side as well, one that loved water fights on the river and white elephant parties (for any occasion). “He would take from whomever was least happy with their gift,” Claire Carver, daughter to Bill and former wife, Karen, said.

And then there was the obsession with $2 bills – even once paying for a used car with them, according to Bill Carver.

When the Carvers’ son, Peter, died in an avalanche near Silverton in 2013,  Wilbert had been working on the concept for the Chapman Hill forest – plans he shared with Peter, a geology major at FLC. The two were extremely close, and after Peter’s death, Wilbert decided to dedicate the project to Peter. Today, the Peter Carver Memorial Forest also remembers three other young Durangoans who died following their dreams and love of the outdoors: Tyler Gordon, Kelsey McLean and Olivia Buchanan.

And now, there will be one more name added to that list.

It was there, at the overlook that Wilbert created, among the trees he helped plant, that he spent his final moments. Tragic and ironic, but many couldn’t imagine it any other way.

“Trees represent such a living memory that will outlast us all. He had that foresight,” said Stoner. “And it will now be part of Paul’s memorial as well – it takes on new meaning.”

As for finishing what he started, all admit it’s going to take a group effort. “I don’t think it’s a torch one person can pick up,” said Emily. “Hopefully, he’ll have inspired a little spark of passion in some people to contribute.”