Robert DeGuelle, who was inducted into the Fort Lewis College Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006, played on the offensive line and wrestled for the Raiders from 1973-76. He earned first team All-RMAC honors as a sophomore football player and later won the RMAC heavyweight crown in wrestling.
He returned to the FLC football family during Ed Rifilato’s tenure as head coach from 2004 to 2009, serving as an assistant coach during two of the best gridiron seasons in school history. In 2005, the Skyhawks went 6-4 overall and 6-2 in league games, posting FLC’s first winning season in 20 years.
One year later, he helped the Skyhawks advance to the postseason for the first time in FLC’s four-year college history (which began in 1963). The Skyhawks defeated Dixie State 24-14 in the Dixie Rotary Bowl, finishing the season 7-4 overall and matching the school record for most wins in a single season. Fort Lewis also narrowly missed qualifying for the NCAA Division II playoffs for the first time in school history. FLC went 6-2 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games that year, losing the league title to Chadron State, which featured current NFL running back Danny Woodhead. That same season, FLC beat every Colorado Division II program for just the second time in school history.
“He was a great Fort Lewis guy, number one. He had a great mind for football,” said Rifilato, who returned to the Skyhawk staff this spring as defensive coordinator. “Not only was a he a Hall of Fame player, but he was a Hall of Fame coach.”
DeGuelle has been a strong supporter of Fort Lewis athletics trough the years. His charitable donations to Skyhawks Athletics have allowed for numerous improvements to the weight room in 2007; new football blocking sleds in 2008; and, most recently, a mechanical lift to allow the football team to film games and practices in 2010.
“Without his help and financial support, our facilities wouldn’t be as nice as they are,” said Rifilato.
DeGuelle died of complications of congestive heart failure on Saturday, May 5, 2012, in Lakewood. He was 59.
“He was just a great representation of what you want players to grow into as they grow up and out of the program,” said FLC head coach Cesar Rivas-Sandoval, who coached with DeGuelle in 2005. “He was a successful businessman and a great family man. At the end of the day, that’s what we want our players to strive to be — successful in their personal and professional life. He was a great example of both.”
Known as “Bobbie” to family and friends, he was born to Bob and Ann DeGuelle on March 29, 1953, in Grand Junction, Colo. His family moved to Durango in 1963, where he spent the rest of his life. DeGuelle graduated from Durango High School in 1971 and from Fort Lewis College in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
Following his athletic and educational career at Fort Lewis, DeGuelle served as owner president of DeGuelle Oil Company from 1977 until his retirement in 1999, when he sold the company to Giant Industries.
Mike Dent, a local realtor and former FLC football player, nominated DeGuelle for the FLC Athletic Hall of Fame. He called DeGuelle “a quiet leader.”
In addition to his help with Fort Lewis football, DeGuelle volunteered at Durango High School games. He also enjoyed fishing and hunting with his family and attending NASCAR races.
DeGuelle is survived by his sisters, Laurie Bates of Durango and Teresa DeGuelle of Berthoud, Colo.; brothers Roger DeGuelle of Craig, Colo., Raymond DeGuelle of Berthoud, Colo., and Ron DeGuelle of Las Vegas, Nevada; and several nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 20, 2012, at Ray Dennison Memorial Field. In case of inclement weather, the services will be moved into Whalen Gymnasium.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to the
Fort Lewis College Foundation, 1000 Rim Drive, Durango, CO, 81301, with “football program” on the memo line.
