The circle of family and friends of Roy H. Kastning wishes to belatedly announce his passing. Born July 24, 1946, Roy left us on Sept. 8, 2024. He is survived by his brother Jeff and adopted children Andrew and Amelie Kastning/Barry, plus four “adopted” grandchildren.
Roy left an incredible and varied legacy with many amazing chapters. Son of decorated WWII Army Air Corps serviceman Robert Kastning and mother Evelyn Kastning (Ficklin) of pioneer Delta County families, he was born at Fitzsimmons Hospital in Denver and spent his early childhood as a military brat in Texas and Portland, Oregon.
He graduated from George Washington High School in Denver while his dad taught aerial photography at Lowry Air Force Base. Photography would be the recurring theme throughout his life. He graduated from Colorado State University in 1968 with a degree in wildlife biology. One of his closest friends and fellow wildlife majors, John Ellenberger, was responsible for Roy’s connections to Gunnison County, where John served as a Division of Wildlife biologist.
With the generous GI bill rules of the time, he moved to Gunnison where he got the equivalent of a second degree from Western State College in art in 1972 after serving as an Air Force photo reconnaissance technician in Vietnam. In classic Roy fashion, he formed close friendships with several WSC professors and his mentors, primarily Lee Johnson, Dale Enquist, Harry Heil and Don Radovich.
In a story often repeated, Roy fell in love with the Elk Mountains and the community of Gunnison County and remained connected for the next 50 years. After starting a very small photo business in Boulder, he convinced his cousin Bill Kastning to move to Gunnison County where they added onto a historic residence at 208 W. New York Ave. creating a photography lab, dark room and studio facilities that also supported his parents’ very successful portrait photography business in Delta County. In Gunnison, the business did many high school senior and family portraits, weddings and more while also doing custom film and photography lab work for the public. Alas, the economic downturn of the early 80’s forced a downsize and move to Crested Butte. Clients included Crested Butte Mountain Resort, Duane Vandenbusche, and families throughout both ends of the valley. In 1988, Roy and Bill ended their partnership to both pursue work in the construction industry, with Roy morphing his artistic talents into a career in construction design work using his parents’ home as his office. He was a pioneer of computer generated drafting of plans and developed a symbiotic relationship with Williams Engineering in Gunnison. His hands-on knowledge building his own structures plus partnering with good friends who were carpenters and construction contractors in both Gunnison and Crested Butte helped him generate plans that every contractor appreciated greatly. In the last chapter of Roy’s life he partnered mostly with Eric Kowal designing homes in Gunnison. While doing all this design work, Roy continued to create beautiful artwork at his offices near Cedaredge.
Roy’s enduring legacy in our community included an amazing variety of friendship from every conceivable part of our county … many of them quite close. His greatest love was camping in the mountains and deserts of Colorado and Utah as well as attending as many music concerts as he could with this same group of friends, mostly in Telluride. Everyone loved him and his quick comeback humor. Every contractor and client became a good friend to his detriment as he never charged the fee he deserved for the quality of work he delivered. Roy! … We will see you “down the road” but meanwhile we will all miss you greatly.
