Wayne E. Luetzelschwab of Littleton, CO, passed away on March 5, 2010. He was preceded in death by his parents Edgar J. and Willette (nee Feder) Luetzelschwab. He is survived by his daughters Katherine (Jim) Rickard of Golden, CO, and Julie Luetzelschwab of  Santa Fe, NM; grandchildren Isabel and Carson Rickard; brothers John (Marcia) Luetzelschwab of Chambersburg, PA, and Earl (Debi Burkhart) Luetzelschwab of New Orleans, LA; sister Ellen (Ron) Sellberg of Naperville, IL; nieces and nephews; and his beloved dog, Tzul.
Wayne was born in Hammond, IN, on October 10, 1938. He earned a degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University. After graduating he was drawn to Colorado’s mountains and open spaces and moved to Littleton where he worked as a chemical engineer for the Research Division of Marathon Oil Company. Wayne had several US, Canadian, and Dutch patents related to his research on oil extraction and he also did consultant work in Oman. After retiring at age 50 he enjoyed traveling, gardening, and “tinkering.”
Wayne loved the outdoors. He took his family on many trips to the mountains so his children could experience the wonders of the natural world. He enjoyed identifying and photographing plants and animals and hunting for mushrooms.
Through Wayne, his siblings and children learned to love animals as pets and to observe living creatures in their natural habitats. Childhood was filled with pet birds, snakes, turtles, lizards, and for a short while even skunks. Through Wayne’s rescues, family members learned how to save and care for injured or orphaned animals. Most importantly, though, they learned from Wayne that wild animals need to remain free. So part of the process of saving and healing was also releasing. As a result, countless wild animals owe Wayne, directly or indirectly, their care and eventual freedom back into the wild.
Wayne was an adventurous gardener who enjoyed experimenting with exotic and unusual plant varieties. He especially enjoyed testing varieties of chiles in a quest to propagate the hottest one. Wayne understood the importance and sensibility of water harvesting, composting, mulching, and edible landscaping long before they became mainstream. He was able to be nearly self-sufficient living off the produce from his home garden, eggs from pet chickens, and honey from his bee hives. He appreciated the importance of native plants and xeric gardening and had a plot dedicated to cactus and succulents. He incorporated his love of wildlife into his yard which was one of the first National Wildlife Federation’s certified backyard wildlife habitats. He also donated trees for future generations to enjoy at nearby Ketring Park, where he has a memorial bench.
Wayne was an avid letter writer. Out of state family and friends were treated to letters adorned with home dried flowers and full of information from gardening tips to a rare bird seen at his feeders to factoids about ancient Mayan civilization.  
Wayne was a very kind and considerate person. He will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him. A memorial service will be held for Wayne at Drinkwine Mortuary at 10:30 on June 26. To honor his love of nature and learning, in lieu of flowers contributions may be made to the Nature Conservancy at www.nature.org or to Rocky Mountain PBS at www.rmpbs.org.