Paul Ross Johnston, a former mayor of Vail and owner of the Christiania Lodge, died peacefully on March 16. He was 81 years old.
Born in Oklahoma City, Johnston became one of Colorado’s mountain town pioneers. He spent the early 1960s in Crested Butte, where he built the Ore Bucket Lodge (now the Christina) and managed a movie theater, laundry and boarding house while serving on the town council.
In 1967 he moved to Vail and founded the Nu Gnu, one of Vail’s hot spots. He manned the door every night with a handlebar mustache accompanied by a fishnet shirt, feather boa or painted head.
Family members say he explored many walks of life in one lifetime.
“Paul was a soldier and peace activist, a painter and an author, an art dealer and a Realtor, a small town hotel and Laundromat and movie theater owner, a cowboy and a bartender, a pilot and a motocross rider, a mayor and and a hospice volunteer and an ecumenical minister,” his son Michael recalled.
But “what struck people most was his warmth and generosity,” Michael said Saturday. “He was probably one of the friendliest guys you could meet. He might give you a hug even if he didn’t know you.”
As an Oklahoma teenager, Johnston was a state champion track star in the 110-meter hurdles and the mile relay. In college he played backup quarterback for Bud Wilkinson at the University of Oklahoma.
He married his college sweetheart and first wife, Mitzie, and joined the U.S. Army after graduation, serving in Germany before he returned to Oklahoma. They later divorced.
Johnston married again in 1970, to his wife Sally, who spent four decades helping him build a family, a business and a town in Vail. He helped found the Vail Chamber of Commerce, the Ford Amphitheater and the Shaw Cancer Center and served as mayor for four years, his family said, and succeeded in bringing the first World Alpine Ski Championships to Vail in 1989.
Some of his other pursuits: riding a motorcycle across Mexico, spearing fish in Cozumel, building a church in Guatemala and flying small planes with his St. Bernard.
“He had a great time,” and greatly influenced Vail, his wife said. “You walk down the street and somebody says, ‘We’d never have that library without Paul.’ ”
A celebration of Johnston’s life is planned April 11 at 10:30 a.m. at the Vail Interfaith Chapel, followed by a reception at the Christiania Lodge. The family encourages festive dress, Hawaiian shirts and feather boas.
In memory of a man who donated to numerous charities, his family requests “a contribution to a local charity or cause that is close to your heart” in lieu of flowers.
In addition to his wife Sally, he is survived by four children — Michelle, Paul, John and Michael — and 11 grandchildren.
David Olinger: 303-954-1498, dolinger@denverpost.com or twitter.com/dolingerdp
