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Vail Daily obituary: Kris Moser, 1942-2013

Kris Moser, born Dec. 13, 1942, passed away at his home in the Judith Mountains on the evening of Sept. 8.

Kris was born in Ridley Park, Pa., and first traveled West to work on a ranch at the tender age of 14. His love for the West never wavered and after earning a zoology degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder, he began a career with the Colorado Division of Wildlife. His first assignment as a wildlife conservation officer took him to the fledgling ski area of Vail, where he was married to Marka Webb, with whom he fathered two sons, Michael and Matthew. He also adopted Marka’s two daughters, Mary Catherine and Barbara. While living in Vail and Denver, Kris competed in handball and trap shooting tournaments and helped organize the annual Vail cleanup days each spring.

He relocated to Denver in 1975, where he served in various positions including area wildlife manager, chief of law enforcement and regional manager concluding a dedicated 32-year career serving the wildlife of Colorado. After retiring in 2000, Kris fulfilled his lifelong dream of living in Montana with his loving wife, Cathy. They relished their time together enjoying the treasures of Montana. When he could, Kris would delight in a game of golf with quality friends. Much of his spare time was spent as a volunteer firefighter, BLM Resource Advisory Council member, Community Cupboard volunteer, Lewistown Birding Bunch president and Mountain Bluebird Trails coordinator.

The outdoors was always home to Kris, and he loved spending time enjoying the beauty of our world while teaching others to appreciate the finest things in life, like an early morning sunrise over a spread of duck decoys, the rising mist of a trout stream or the pleasure of watching a good hunting dog work. He journeyed to the Arctic Ocean for research, survived multiple adventures on commercial fishing boats in Alaska, enjoyed multiple hunting trips to Canada, savored many fishing trips to Mexico and Maui, embarked on a photo safari in Namibia and gathered a lifetime of experience in the outdoors of Colorado and Montana.

He is survived by his wife, Cathy, of Lewistown; sons Michael (Amy) of Wolcott, and Matthew, of Edwards; daughters Mary Catherine (Steven) Conger, of Carbondale, and Barbara Brugger, of Annemasse, France; grandchildren Addison Moser and Flynn Moser, of Wolcott, and Elisa Grandjean and Stefan Grandjean, of Annemasse, France; and brother Geoff (Pam) Moser, of Bozeman, Mont. His ashes were spread in the beloved Judith Mountains near his home, and a celebration of his life will take place next spring.

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In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Kris Moser’s name be made to Ducks Unlimited, One Waterfowl Way, Memphis, TN 38120; or Central Montana Community Cupboard, 203 4th Ave. N., Lewistown, MT 59457, where he was a loyal volunteer for 13 years.


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