Jack Grunwald, Acme founder, sportsman

By Mike Pearson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published September 8, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Jack Grunwald "took care of everyone around him."

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To family and friends, Jack Grunwald packed enough passion into his 82 years to fuel several ordinary lifetimes.

He was a father, husband, businessman, sportsman and more. Mr. Grunwald died of natural causes Aug. 31.

He was a man who turned a small delivery service into a major warehousing concern. He was a high school basketball player whose love of sports translated into the birth of the Denver Nuggets and an avid enthusiasm for the Broncos and Rockies.

Born in Denver on Feb. 21, 1926, to Otto and Helene Grunwald, he graduated from East High School in 1943 and served in the Merchant Marine in World War II.

Upon returning to Denver, he and then-wife Nancy (Newcomb) Grunwald started Acme Delivery Service out of the back of a station wagon in 1947. By the 1960s, Acme had grown into the largest warehouse in the Rocky Mountain region.

"My dad has always been a go-getter. You'd probably say he was a workaholic, even though he would spend as much time as he could with his family," said his son, Jack Grunwald Jr., of Dallas. "He was one of these guys who got up at 5 in the morning and went to work and didn't come home until 6 at night.

"They're probably going to play Frank Sinatra's My Way at his funeral. That was my dad. He did it his way. He was very generous, everyone knew him, he took care of everyone around him. The elevator operator, the ticket girl, wherever it was, they all knew Jack."

Mr. Grunwald's interests extended well beyond work.

"He was involved with Bill Ringsby, who used to own Ringsby System trucking, and my dad was head of the steering committee to start the Ringsby Rockets (one of the 11 original ABA franchises), which later became the Denver Nuggets," his son said.

"He was one of the very first people to have season tickets to the Rockets and the Broncos. I remember going to Broncos games with him back in the '60s. His priority number with the Broncos was 73."

Even as his business prospered, Mr. Grunwald developed a passion for thoroughbred horse racing. In the heyday of Centennial Race Track, he owned 30 to 40 steeds, including one considered among the best in the country.

"In 1967 he had a horse named Son Jack that won the Omaha Gold Cup and was nominated to the Triple Crown. It was a very good horse," said Jack Jr., who noted that Blood Horse magazine cited Son Jack among the 100 best 3-year-olds in the country that year.

Those who worked with Jack Grunwald have nothing but praise for him.

"He was the most honorable and decent business partner a person could ask for, and I'm proud to have been so involved with him," said Jeff Goldfogel, who was a competitor of Grunwald's before becoming a business partner in the mid-90s. "We had many . . . agreements that had nothing more than handshakes to fall back on. Never were either of us disappointed."

Mr. Grunwald was preceded in death by his first wife, Nancy. He is survived by his wife, Pat Grunwald, of Denver; sisters, Pat Engelhardt, of Surprise, Ariz., and Velda Wilson, of Longmont; son Jack Grunwald Jr., of Dallas; daughters Barbara Feeney and Judy Grunwald, both of Denver; stepson Michael Parks, of Las Vegas; stepdaughter Kristi Lynch, of Vail; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Services were Sept. 5 at St. Francis Cabrini Catholic Parish in Littleton. The family suggests donations be made to the Boys and Girls Club of Denver, of which Mr., Grunwald was an active supporter, or Lutheran Hospice.

pearsonm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2592

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