Aug. 29, 1954 – July 27, 2024
Gregory Thomas Pelland passed away peacefully on July 27.
He was born on Aug. 29, 1954, at Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee, Massachusetts. The first of five children born to Carol and Patrick Pelland, Greg grew up between Massachusetts, Germany, the Azores and Illinois. He had an early love for baseball, music and dogs. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and worked as a chief financial accountant for almost 40 years.
Greg loved the mountains and the beauty of Colorado. In 1979, he helped his sister, Mary, move to Colorado from Illinois. They drove through a snowstorm in Glenwood Canyon, awoke to fresh mountain air, a blanket of snow and mountains surrounding them in all directions. From that moment, the Roaring Fork Valley was always and forever Greg’s home.
Greg cared about people. He remembered everyone’s name and was sure to wave from the window of his maroon Ford Ranger. On a winter hut trip, he heroically dug out a friend buried under an avalanche and saved his life with CPR. Greg loved camping, his blue and orange “Bronco Bike,” old Westerns, The Three Stooges and outer space. He served as a volunteer treasurer and board director at KDNK for 3.5 years and also entertained the Valley with his late-night rock-and-roll radio set. His favorite band was The Rolling Stones, and he recently saw them for the 16th time in Denver with his family.
Greg’s family was his pride and joy. He married the love of his life, Julie, in 1989 in Carbondale in the middle of winter. They had one daughter, Erica. Greg coached her soccer teams and took her to and from school every day. His life was forever changed when he became “Gramps” 3.5 years ago, and he flourished as a grandfather.
Greg was always available to help a friend. He was loving, kind and generous. He will be deeply missed and forever loved, but lives on in memory and spirit.
Greg is survived by his life partner of 41 years, Julia (Burstein) Pelland; daughter, Erica Raye Pelland (Patrick McCarney); granddaughter, Nahara Hart McCarney; siblings, Mary Webster, Catherine McDonald, John Pelland (Shannon) and Amy Koehler (Craig); and numerous nieces and nephews.
A celebration of Greg’s life will be held at 668 Surrey Road in Carbondale on Thursday, August 29, from 4 to 7pm, what would have been Greg’s 70th birthday.