Greg Markle arrived in Colorado from Pennsylvania in the early 1970s and Gilpin and Clear Creek Counties were never the same. A musician, hiker, traveler, actor, director, producer, mischief maker, pilot, and one of the founders of the Fun Club, he never missed an opportunity to make people laugh. And laugh we did. Greg perfected the art of living on $1 a day, staying in abandoned miners’ cabins without electricity or running water. In fact, he inspired several friends to move to Colorado for the good life.
He started his business, Clear Creek Surveying, in the early 1980s and tirelessly walked the backcountry and town streets. He had a knack for finding old markers and monuments. He was County Surveyor for both Gilpin and Clear Creek Counties multiple years. Greg also ventured to Alaska and New Zealand to survey.
In 1994 Greg and his buddy Bob Flagle dreamed of starting a local radio station. A cable TV version of KYGT (“the Goat”) started in the Idaho Springs Heritage Museum with an empty studio and a grand idea, and an on-air license was obtained in 2002. Greg and Mark Cucinella visited legislators in Washington DC to advocate for community stations across the country. Greg wanted a venue for the expression of creative energy, a sense of community, and a resource for Clear Creek County in emergencies (as it was during the big snowstorm of 2003). Many local DJs connected Clear Creek County to the world by hosting festivals and broadcasting music, local sporting events, interview shows, and community news. The Goat is still going strong.
Greg also created a variety of video projects about Clear Creek County: a series called Clear Creek Magazine, oral histories of longtime residents in Gilpin and Clear Creek, documentaries for the museum about early history in the area, and five feature-length films with hundreds of community members as actors and crews, beginning with Rastaman Surveyor and ending with Idahoe. Gilpin oral histories can be found at the Gilpin Public Library. The movies combined zany scenes with serious issues. The early premiers were held at the Teller House in Central City and were attended by locals and guests in all their glitterati.
Another pet project was the Westmuttster Dog Show, a benefit for Charlie’s Place, the local dog shelter. Greg joined “Doggy Daddy and Poochie” as the emcees and enjoyed convincing the Clear Creek County Commissioners to judge the worst-breath doggy category.
Greg cherished his wife Amber Dahlin and his two creative children Birdie Ahlstrom and Ben Markle. He also prized his relationships with other survivors, including his brother Gary Markle, loving in-laws, thirteen nieces and nephews, and a host of longtime friends.
He finally succumbed to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis after an 8-year struggle and his ashes will be interred in Dumont, in the place he loved most in the world. He was a kind spirit and charismatic presence in many lives. He will be greatly missed--but his crazy stories will live on.
A celebration of life will be held on November 16, 2024, at Rocky Mountain Village in Empire. Donations in his memory may be made to Clear Creek County Advocates which provides support for victims of crime or personal tragedy, or to his beloved KYGT Radio (PO Box 1419, Idaho Springs, CO 80452.)
Rocky Mountain Village is located at 2644 Alvarado Road, Empire, CO 80438. For Greg’s celebration of life the doors will open at 12:30 p.m., the service will be from 1 - 2 p.m. and a kazoo parade (kazoos provided) from 2 - 2:15 p.m. The open house will have light refreshments. Locals, if you would like to bring a dessert to share that would be appreciated. Bring a photo or two and a story! Please wear your favorite Hawaiian shirt and/or attire you are comfortable in.
