Lance D Gale

On July 6, 2023 Lance Denne Gale, loving husband and father of two, passed away at age seventy. Following in his father Larry Gale’s footsteps,
Lance was the pharmacist and owner of Gale Drug Inc. in Springfield, CO for 34 years.  After attending Adams State College in Alamosa for two years for pre-pharmacy classes and four years at the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO, he graduated from the School of Pharmacy in 1976. After finishing his degree, Lance moved back to the southern Colorado area and worked as a substitute pharmacist all over the Arkansas Valley. He knew he didn’t want to live in the city, and wanted to come back to the prairie. During this time, he met a spicy short woman, LuAnn Olivas who he married in 1980 and had two children, Jennifer and Blake. Lance and LuAnn would have celebrated 43 years of marriage on August 3rd.He took over the drug store from Larry in 1989 and was the owner and pharmacist until his retirement in 2016. He was dedicated to helping the community with medication needs and made runs in the middle of the night for medication whenever it was needed.

Growing up in Springfield, CO with his mother and father, Nila Jean and Larry Gale, brother and sister Mike and Leslie, Lance always loved being
outdoors. Larry, Mike, and Lance spent countless hours hunting, fishing, riding horses. Throughout his life, any spare time he had was dedicated to these hobbies. Together, they cultivated a love for the prairie of southern Colorado. Lance was many things, but above all else, he was a true cowboy. He loved taking care of and riding horses on his land west of Springfield. He was at his happiest when he was dressed head-to-toe in horse riding gear including chaps, six-shooter, his favorite leather vest, long leather duster, neck scarf, and of course, a cowboy hat. He would take any chance he had to put on this gear, and would drive LuAnn crazy changing his clothes several times a day to match the activity he was doing or the occasion. If he wasn’t hunting, shooting, or riding horses, Lance’s other favorite pastime was telling stories by the fire while having a glass of whiskey. During these elaborate, loud, often repeated stories, he taught his nephews Bo, Todd, Rafe, and Luke Hutches to cuss. He was a colorful and prolific curser. He tried very hard not to teach his grandchildren, but was mostly unsuccessful. Early on, they began charging him a quarter per curse word and had very full piggy banks.

When he could get away from work, Lance took several backpacking trips into the San Juan Mountains with his good friend Larry Duncan. He
always looked forward to competing in Cowboy Shoots in Raton, NM where he met his good friend, Jim Protto. He won many matches and medals. He also looked forward all year to his yearly deer hunting trips with his lifelong friend, the late Darwin Hansen. He was also lucky to have good friend, Mark Schmidt, who always came to visit, shared books, and conversation.

Lance was a simple man who knew what he liked, and did exactly that. He loved any and all desserts. He drank black coffee all day. He loved Evan Williams whiskey. He loved hunting with his family and friends. He loved the prairie of Southern Colorado and took many drives with LuAnn to marvel at its beauty. His favorite was always the drive between Kim and LaJunta. He always said it was just beautiful. Even when the prairies were dry and brown, he still loved them. He loved watching sports, especially his beloved Colorado Buffaloes, with Blake. He enjoyed watching all of the kids play sports. He loved visiting the family cabin in Allenspark and hiking the mountains of Westcliffe and Rocky Mountain National Park with Jen. He was a life-long reader of westerns, loved looking at maps, and later in life, his greatest joy was reading books to his grandchildren. He also loved listening to music, he loved Frank Sinatra and the Eagles were his favorite band.

Lance is survived by his wife LuAnn Gale, son Blake Gale and Shuamay, daughter Jennifer Grutt and Ryan, sister Leslie Stewart, nephews
Bo, Todd, Rafe, and Luke Hutches. Last but not least, Lance loved his grandchildren Arlo, Peter, Anders and Lucy beyond words. Each one held a special place in his heart. He was preceded in death by his father Larry Gale, mother Nila Jean Gale, brother Mike Gale, and nephew Mitchell Gale.

A service will be held at Maltbie Funeral Services at 265 W. 8th Ave. on Saturday, July 22 at 10:00 am followed by lunch and visiting with the family at the Cat Creek Event Center at 27913 US-287. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Southeast Colorado Hospital Long-Term Care Center, 373E. 10th Ave. Springfield, Co 81073.