Skilling attends invite-only service for Lay in Aspen

Private guards use umbrellas to shield guests from cameras

Troy Hooper, Special to the News

Published July 10, 2006 at midnight

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ASPEN - Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling joined other mourners at a memorial service Sunday for company founder Ken Lay, who died after suffering a heart attack here last week while vacationing with his wife.

Under dark and stormy skies, private security guards surrounded the perimeter of Aspen Chapel, several of them wielding umbrellas to shield attendees from photographers who camped out on roads outside the service.

Two Pitkin County sheriff's deputies were stationed at the entrance of the chapel as organ music signaled the start of the 2 p.m. service. The sheriff's department's third-in- command, Joe DiSalvo, estimated the number of attendees at about 100.

"The family asked us to be here because they thought there would be upwards of 300 guests, which by itself would have an impact on local roads and parking and things like that. And they thought there would be a large press turnout, which usually impacts traffic, but we haven't had that either," DiSalvo said.

Lay, who was renting a home in Old Snowmass near Aspen, died Wednesday, six weeks after he and Skilling, 52, were convicted in May of defrauding Enron investors and employees through repeated lies about the company's financial health before it collapsed. Both men were to be sentenced Oct. 23 and faced decades in prison.

Only invited friends and family attended the celebration of Lay's life - a directive Houston Chronicle society columnist Shelby Hodge discovered firsthand.

Inside, there was a bouquet of white lilies at the altar and a picture of Lay, flanked by sprays of sunflowers, according to Hodge, who stepped inside and swiftly was escorted out.

A reception followed the memorial service in another section of Aspen Chapel, which is an interfaith place of worship. There, white tablecloths adorned tables holding bottles of wine and flowers.

"In the beginning, when Enron collapsed, they certainly did lose friends, but they also had a very loyal contingent of friends that stuck by them and stuck up for them," Hodge said.

"Their point was, you're not guilty until proven guilty. Even after the recent conviction, these friends stayed on; they were loyal friends until the end."

"The Lays were great philanthropic and civic contributors in Houston," she added. "They did a lot for the city."

Their generosity also spread to Aspen. They donated to the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies and other causes.

After his conviction, Lay and his wife, Linda, began spending more time in Aspen, where they once owned three houses and a vacant plot. A condition of his $5 million bond stipulated that he reside only in Texas and Colorado. The Lays were renting a 50-year-old farmhouse from I.V. Pabst, the great- granddaughter of the founder of Pabst Brewing Co.

Other attendees at Lay's service included Skilling's wife, Rebecca Carter; part-time Aspen resident Mick Seidel, who once worked at Enron; and former Enron executives Rich Kinder and Bill Morgan, founders of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners.

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