Longtime Greeley resident Bob Tointon, who distinguished himself with a deep commitment to both his city and local public education, died Dec. 27 at his home.
Tointon, who raised his family with his wife, Betty, in Greeley beginning in the early 1960s, was 92.
Both Kansas natives, the Tointons moved to Greeley for the second time in 1963, starting their decades-long interest in their adopted hometown through support of the growth and development of downtown and in education at Greeley-Evans School District 6 and the University of Northern Colorado.
The Tointons’ support was based on both financial investments and donations and on their backgrounds and experiences, particularly in education.
“What a profound loss,” said Bianca Fisher, executive director of the Greeley Downtown Development Authority, a nonprofit promoting the downtown area that evolved from the Tointons’ interests starting in the 1970s. “He had an incredible vision and decades-long commitment to downtown Greeley, and it’s unparalleled. It was his vision, and Betty’s, that laid the foundation that future generations will continue to build on. That is nothing short of remarkable, and it feels as if words fall flat.”
Tointon was involved with the Greeley DDA for more than 30 years. Fisher said Tointon began advocating for downtown and considering the future of the area in the 1970s. He was later responsible for the establishment of the downtown development authority, she added.
Bob Tointon, center, speaks during the surprise dedication ceremony of Tointon Way on 8th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues on Sept. 17, 2020 in downtown Greeley. Bob Tointon, who died Dec. 27, 2025 at age 92 and his late wife Betty were instrumental in the development of downtown Greeley. Betty Tointon died in July 2020 at age 87. (Greeley Tribune file photo).The family will hold a private graveside service for Bob. Survivors are sons, Bill and Bryan, daughters-in-law, JanieJill and Judi, a brother, Roger, and his wife, Sherry, four grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and a great-great grandson.
A joint celebration of the lives of Bob and Betty will be held at a later date, according to an online obituary written by the family as well as friend and colleague Travis Gillmore. An announcement of this celebration will be made as soon as more information is available. Betty died during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 at age 87.
Gillmore is the president of Phelps-Tointon, Inc., a company Bob founded with Joe Phelps in 1989. Gillmore has known Bob professionally and personally for about 30 years.
“Greeley lost one of its best citizens,” Gillmore said in a text message. “He was so proud to call Greeley home. He left a legacy that will be felt by future generations.”
Two months after Betty’s death, Greeley-Evans School District 6 decided to name a new building for the Tointon family. The Tointon Academy of Pre-Engineering opened on 71st Avenue in August 2022. The academy is a pre-kindergarten through eighth grade school with more than 900 students. People walk through the Tointon Academy of Pre-Engineering cafeteria where a plane hangs from the ceiling while touring the new school in August 2022 in Greeley. The school was named for the Tointon family, led by longtime Greeley residents Bob and Betty Tointon. Bob Tointon died Dec. 27, 2025 at age 92. (Greeley Tribune file photo).
District 6 Superintendent Deirdre Pilch said Bob was a longtime friend of the school district. Pilch, who was hired in 2015, counted him among her first advisors before her contract was finalized. He served on a business advisory council for Pilch, and he was among the business leaders consulted on the design of mill levy override and bond packages — to support large-scale capital expenditures in the district.
Pilch said Tointon’s other contributions to the school district included starting the Greeley Dream Team and the student recovery program to help male Latino students who at one time were at a higher risk than peers to drop out of high school.
“He was honored and humbled to have the school named after him,” Pilch said. “I think it was one of the things of which he was most proud. He leaves such a legacy. I was honored to have him in my world and orbit as I came into District 6.”
In selecting the Tointons as the namesake for the school — the first new building constructed in the school system in more than a decade — District 6 cited Bob’s professional career as an engineer. He studied civil engineering at Kansas State University, where he and Betty met in the early 1950s. Longtim Greeley residnt Bob Tointon, left, speaks as his grandson, Steven Tointon, right, holds the microphone during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in August 2022 at the new Tointon Academy of Pre-Engineering in Greeley. An advocate of Greeley and public education, Bob Tointon died Dec. 27, 2025 at age 92. (Greeley Tribune file photo).
The Tointons were also supportive of Kansas State University and were honored by their alma mater through the years. They were inducted into the athletics hall of fame in 2006. The couple also supported the college of health and human sciences, the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering and the alumni association, according to the athletic department website.
“All of our student-athletes, baseball in particular, have benefited greatly from their generous support,” Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor said in the story. “He (Bob) will be missed, and the Tointon family will continue to be in our thoughts and prayers.”
Betty was the daughter of a school superintendent in Kansas, and Bob frequently cited access to education as a reason for his success and accomplishments, according to former educator Janet Alcorn. Having been raised in a farm family, he felt education was life-changing, she said.
“A kernel of his belief is education is the key to opening doors,” Alcorn added.
Alcorn spent 25 years as the director of the Tointon Institute for Educational Change at UNC. The institute was founded and funded by the Tointons with donations totaling at least $3.5 million. The institute’s 30th anniversary was celebrated in the spring.
Alcorn said the Tointons gave $1 million to the university in the mid-1990s to go toward education and leadership. The institute eventually evolved into two academies, one for principals and another for teachers and schools.
The Tointons donated another $2.5 million to the institute in 2019, along with other donations through the years to ease Alcorn’s fundraising efforts, she said.
Alcorn retired from the director role in July, and Bob continued to engage her in conversation about the programs. They became friends over the years, and he often had dinner with the Alcorns since Betty’s death.
Alcorn described Bob as humble, thoughtful, generous and “a man who wanted to get things done.”
“He still had a twinkle in his eye anytime we’d talk about the program,” Alcorn said of the Tointon Institute. “He always attended the academies, and he was the sweetest man. He asked deep questions. He said if you go back and do nothing differently, then we have failed.”
A sign for the newly named Tointon Way in Greeley during a surprise dedication ceremony in September 2020. The sign is posted on 8th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues in Greeley and was named for longtime residents Bob and Betty Tointon, who were local advocates of Greeley and longtime residents. Betty Tointon died in July 2020. Bob Tointon died Dec. 27, 2025 at age 92. (Greeley Tribune file photo).Bob and Betty married in December 1955 after Betty graduated from Kansas State. They moved to Greeley the first time in 1959. They relocated to Denver two years later, and returned to Greeley in 1963 when Bob went to work for Hensel Phelps Construction. Tointon worked for Hensel Phelps from 1963-89, and he was the CEO and president from 1976-89, according to Gillmore.
While in Greeley, the Tointons also supported UNC athletics. Among the projects and programs they backed over 36 consecutive years were: baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, football, men’s and women’s golf, volleyball, The Empower Center — a sports performance facility on the south end of campus near practice fields — and Nottingham Field, according to UNC.
In a statement, UNC athletic director Darren Dunn called Bob a visionary leader, incredible businessman and a “deeply treasured friend” of UNC, UNC athletics and the city of Greeley.
“Together (Bob and Betty), they helped shape the fabric of this community through tireless service, generous support and an unwavering belief in the power of opportunity,” Dunn wrote.
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