John Silk Obituary

Silk
John Lowell
Silk
December 22, 1951
February 9, 2026

John Lowell Silk, 74, of Colorado Springs, passed away quietly and peacefully on Monday, Feb. 9, at Pikes Peak Hospice. He was born Dec. 22, 1951, in Des Moines, IA, to Lowell and Velma (née Thompson). His older sister, Mary Ellen, was a loving big sister, and his younger brother, Steven, tended to follow his older brother everywhere.
Growing up in the Midwest in the '50s and '60s, John found two things he would love for the rest of his life—alongside baseball and football: fishing and hunting. It was during a trip to Colorado in the winter of '69-'70 that he discovered his other great love: skiing.
In 1972, he married Kayla Gibson of Indianola, IA. After bouncing around Washington and Ames, IA, they headed west to Big Sky, MT. During the winters at Big Sky, John first worked at Lone Mountain Sports and later became a ski patrolman. In the summertime, he worked as a ranch foreman. Even though John and his young family moved away in the mid-'80s, he returned to Big Sky many times over the years.
After leaving Montana, becoming an airline mechanic, and beginning his career with Continental Airlines—the company from which he eventually retired—they settled in Colorado Springs. While at Continental, he traveled for work not only around the U.S. but also around the world. No matter where he worked—LAX, DEN, IAH, or even internationally at NRT, HKG, GRU, MAN, or TLV—he made friends with whom he stayed in contact long after he'd left. Back in Colorado Springs, the neighbors he had in Village Seven became close friends and remained so, even when some moved away and were no longer neighbors.
John is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Devon and Lauren, and their four children: Elliot, Drake, Rhys, and Fawkes; his sister Mary and her sons, Jason, Justin, and Trevor; his brother Steven, his wife Sabine, and their children, Robin and Estelle; and the many friends he made over the years, too numerous to list.
In true John fashion, a celebration of life will be held at Cogstone Brewing Company in Colorado Springs on March 1 at 2 p.m. A second celebration of life will be held in Big Sky, MT, on March 27, with location details to be announced. Ashes will be spread following the gathering. Both events are open to all friends and neighbors who wish to attend.