Herb Pavlisick

Herb Pavlisick, age 85, passed to Heaven May 24, 2026, following a battle with dementia.
Herb was born Oct. 30, 1940 (10/30/40 like a quart of oil) to Adolph “Otto” Pavlisick and Mary (Delost) Pavlisick in Paonia, Colo. 
The family lived in Bowie, Colo., before moving to Paonia permanently. 
Herb graduated from Paonia High School in 1958. He married the love of his life, Carol Lynn Bieber, in 1961. Together they raised their children, Denise and Michael.
Herb began his career with the federal government in 1960, starting with the Bureau of Reclamation and later transferring to the National Forest Service. During his career the family lived in Rifle, Pueblo and Monte Vista, Colo., and Custer, S.D. He held many positions with the Forest Service, but his favorite was fighting fires, either building line by hand or with a bulldozer.
During his career he also did many side jobs because he just couldn’t sit still, he had to be working or he felt he was wasting time. He retired from the Forest Service in 1994 and he and Carol returned to Grand Junction, Colo., to “enjoy retirement.” He began working as a truck driver with a local company and then moved to shuttling cars from airport to airport across Colorado. He enjoyed visiting with the folks he delivered freight to and his coworkers.
Herb was proud to be a lifetime member of the Hotchkiss Elks Club. He was also a member of Eastern Star, Masonic Lodge and served with the Custer County Volunteer Fire Department. He was active with Rainbow and was a Boy Scout Troop Leader.
In his spare time, Herb enjoyed hunting, fishing, golfing, motorcycle riding and snowmobiling. Herb and Carol took several motorcycle tours with friends and loved to recall their adventures.
Herb spent his life working hard, playing hard and loving deeply. He will be remembered by family and friends as a kind and generous soul.
Herb is preceded in death by his parents; many aunts and uncles; a sister-in-law; a son-in-law; and numerous cousins.
He leaves behind his wife, Carol; his children, Denise Wilson and Michael (Bridgett) Pavlisick; sister, Patty (Bill) Bradshaw; sisters-in-law, Julie (Terry) Brown and LeeAnn (Ron) Unfred; grandsons, Patrick Scot and Stephen Michael; as well as seven step-grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and many extended family members. 
Celebration of Life for Herb will be held at a later date. The family wishes to express their deep gratitude to the outstanding care teams of Capella of Grand Junction, LaVilla Grande Care Center, HopeWest Hospice and Abode Hospice for their love and support during Herb’s final years, months and days.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a memorial contribution to National Alzheimer’s Association, alz.org.
Services for Herbert will be held Oct. 30 at Living Hope Church at 1 p.m.