John L. Switzer died Friday, March 25, 2016, at Denver Hospice. He was 68.
He was born in Boone, Iowa to LeRoy J. and S. Evelyn Bygness Switzer, April 12, 1947. Later, John and his family moved to Tama and then Chariton before moving to Des Moines. John attended All Saints Catholic School there.
John’s family moved to Lakewood, Colorado in 1960. He graduated from Alameda High School in 1965. John received a B.A. in Technical Theatre from the University of Denver in 1970. While attending D.U., John began his career in television broadcasting at KOA-TV (now KCNC-TV).
In 1973, John joined the Rocky Mountain Broadcast Center, where he spent the next decade as Director of Engineering. In 1983, he joined Z-Axis Corporation as Vice President of Production.
Most of John’s broadcasting career was with Sony Business and Professional Group as Senior Account Executive. During his 20-year career (1989 to 2009) at Sony, he was honored twice as a Sony Samurai and received their Top Sales Achiever award. He was instrumental in converting regional broadcasters to high-definition television.
In 2009, he joined Burst Communications as Vice President of System Sales. At Burst, he designed high-definition control rooms for many organizations, including the University of Denver and University of Colorado, Boulder.
John was honored in 2007 by SMPTE, The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. As an active member of the University of Denver Alumni Association, he volunteered to shoot and edit video for a variety of events.
John was a member of Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado. He was on the committee that formed the Denver School of the Arts Video/Cinema Arts program.
Additionally, John was an Assistant Scout Master for Boy Scout Troop 309, while his two sons participated in the Scouting program. Both became Eagle Scouts. He served on the Vestry at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church in Aurora.
John also enjoyed spending time with his family and traveled to Europe, Japan and throughout the U.S. For several summers, he enjoyed getaways to Aspen and Santa Fe. He taught his sons to fish in Maroon Bells Lake and the Roaring Fork River.