Joe Ignat Memorial Service
Joseph Nord Ignat was born in 1943 to Mary Elizabeth (Nord) Ignat and Joseph Allen Ignat. He and his brother David were raised in Oberlin, Ohio. He attended Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics. After college he served his country in the Vietnam War as a Naval Officer aboard the USS Kretchmer. Upon discharge from the Navy in 1969, he moved to Denver and was employed as an Industrial Engineer at Martin Marietta Aerospace. In 1971, he married Pam Williams and they would go on to have three children; Brian, Todd and Erin. In 1973, he received an MBA from the University of Colorado. A true entrepreneur, Joe was involved in many enterprises over the years.
After his employment with Martin Marietta, he worked as a consultant for the accounting firm Peat, Marwick. After that, he formed a business called The Home Office; a service center providing offices, secretarial and support services for small businesses. In the mid 1980s he was the Executive Producer for the film company Wind River Productions, which produced Kid Colter, Destroyer, The Forgotten One and Edge of Honor. After his movie career, he went on to work in gas and oil with Thunderbird Oil Exploration. He was then the Managing Director of the venture capital firm, Blackburn Capital.
In addition to his work, Joe was also a great philanthropist. He was member of the Nord family of Ohio and upon the formation of the Nord Family Foundation in 1989, he served as a member, trustee, Treasurer and President. He belonged to various organizations including Property and Environmental Research Center (PERC), The Denver Lion’s Club, The Independence Institute, The Legacy Investment Club, The Denver Civic Theatre, The Colorado Medical Society Foundation, The Craig Hospital Foundation, The Colorado Association of Funders and he served on his college Board of Directors.
He was an avid reader and was well versed in many subjects. He also enjoyed skiing and sailing, buying a sailboat in 2006 which he enjoyed sailing around Granby Lake. He traveled the world with his wife and he especially enjoyed visiting South Africa, Australia, Normandy, Turkey, China and Russia. His pride and joy were his three children and his three grandchildren. He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Pamela Kay Ignat; his brother and sister in law David and Eleanor Ignat; his children and their spouses Brian Ignat and Leslie Stockton, Todd and Lamda Ignat, and Erin and Cole Jorgenson; and his grandchildren Mason and Max Jorgenson and Samuel Ignat.