Springs developer mined joy out of tragedy

To say someone lived life to the fullest is a cliche.

But in the case of Ed Rudolph — a Colorado Springs real estate developer, civic leader and three-time U.S. Olympic speed skater — it was true, his friends said. Whether skiing, snowmobiling, fly fishing or bike riding, the 67-year-old Rudolph never lost his zest for life.

“He told me one time that ‘the one thing they can’t take away from me are the good times I’ve had’,” said Springs developer and longtime friend Chuck Murphy, who accompanied Rudolph on fishing trips to Alaska, Costa Rica and Canada. “I’ve never forgotten that.”

Rudolph, and his wife Gwen, 66, were killed in a head-on crash Sunday in Wyoming that also claimed the lives of two other Colorado Springs residents.

“This is a true loss to the Pikes Peak region,” said Bill Hybl, chairman of the Springs-based El Pomar Foundation and a longtime friend of the Rudolphs. “Their vision, compassion, humor and spirit of adventure will truly be missed.”

Ed Rudolph’s life was hardly just a series of fun times. He endured personal tragedies from which some people never recover.

In May 1979, Rudolph’s 5-year-old son, Eddie Rudolph IV, was riding in another family’s car when it was struck by a train. . The child died at the scene; in his memory, the Rudolphs commissioned a sculpture of a little boy with a soccer ball at Bear Creek Regional Park. That tragedy followed the death of the Rudolphs’ two infant daughters.

Eddie’s death might have shaped Rudolph’s live-for-today philosophy, said Paul Abramson, Rudolph’s business partner for 12 years.

“There wasn’t a day in his life that he didn’t think, ‘everything is going to be fine’,” Abramson said. “It came from the death of Eddie. His idea was that if ‘I’ve gone through that, nothing can be worse.’”

The always athletic Rudolph carried himself like a 40-year-old, Abramson said. He skied hard, snowmobiled in out-of-the-way places and even raced his bike against 20-year-olds in the Utah desert, Abramson said.

When he wasn’t playing, Rudolph worked. He owned The Rudolph Co., a marketing and development company. As partners in the 1990s and early 2000s, Rudolph and Abramson developed small shopping centers, launched the redevelopment of a block on downtown’s south edge and spent millions transforming the eyesore Cooper Theatres at Colorado and Nevada avenues into the One City Centre office building.

For years, Rudolph donated hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars worth of his real estate expertise to help Goodwill Industries of Colorado Springs develop 10 stores, said Bob Baker, Goodwill’s retired chief executive officer. Rudolph served on Goodwill’s board the past few years and received the organization’s prestigious Guiding Light award for his work and contributions.

 “He was integral to what we have accomplished over the last 10 to 12 years,” Baker said.

Born in suburban Chicago, Rudolph was a member of the 1960, 1964 and 1968 U.S. Olympic teams as a speed skater. In 1963, in Karasawa, Japan, he won two silver medals in the 500-meter race and set a world record, according to the National Speedskating Hall of Fame and Museum’s Web site. Rudolph also was inducted into the speedskating hall of fame.

He also coached the Broadmoor Speed Skating Club in Colorado Springs, volunteered to help build the Olympic Training Center in the Springs and was former treasurer for the Colorado Chapter of the U.S. Olympians and Paralympians.

Cindy Stinger, manager of the U.S. Olympians Association – which serves as the alumni association for the Olympians – said Rudolph was a huge supporter.

“He had a halo that most Olympians had, but his shone a little bit brighter than most,” she said. “We were all blessed by his company and inspired by his acts. He is going to be missed in Colorado Springs.”

Ed and Gwen Rudolph are survived by their twin sons, Jason and Ryan, and a daughter, Morgan Funeral services were pending.

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Contact the writer at 636-0228.